Welcome to the savanna ecology lab at the University of Georgia!
Research in the Holdo lab focuses on understanding the factors that determine the structure and composition of tree communities in savannas and grasslands. Tree cover is a fundamental component of ecosystem structure and an important factor influencing biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human welfare in the tropical savanna biome. Savannas are interesting systems for the study of tree populations because they incorporate a wide range of woody cover across space and time, and the causes of this variation are still not well understood. They provide an ideal laboratory for teasing apart the relative importance of and interactions among various processes and agents (climate, fire, nutrients, herbivory, pathogens) that affect tree cover. We have been focusing on this problem across trophic levels and at multiple spatial scales through work in southern and East Africa. Our lab combines statistical modeling of observational data (e.g., time series and spatial patterns of tree abundance and tree life history processes), field experiments, and dynamic simulation models with GIS and remote sensing data.
Contact:
Ricardo M. Holdo
Odum School of Ecology
University of Georgia
188b Ecology Building
140 E. Green St.
Athens, GA 30602
(706) 542-0075