Professor; Associate Unit Head
Year Started at JMU: 2006
griscohp@jmu.edu
Contact Info
Website: https://heathergriscom.weebly.com/
Betty Coe (’64) and Paul J. Cinquegrana Presidential Chair of Faculty Teaching Excellence and Research
Research Description
Our research questions are centered on restoration ecology within Southern Appalachian and dry tropical forest ecosystems. Restoration of forests offers ~10% of the cost-effective solution to global climate change. Simultaneously, forest restoration is critical to reversing the species extinction crisis. To this end, we study barriers to plant regeneration and changes in biomass and diversity in forest ecosystems. Long-term regional and global studies allow us to identify and prioritize restoration strategies with emphasis on mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration.
Courses
- Ecology and Evolution (BIO 250)
- Forest Ecology (BIO 402/502)
Education
- PhD in Tropical Forest Ecology, 2004, Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
- MFS in Forest Ecology, 2000, Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
- BA in Biology, 1997, Smith College
Select Publications
- Starinchak*, B., Griscom, H. 2024. Pastures as natural climate solutions: a socioecological study of tree carbon and beef production trade-offs. Agriculture, Ecosystems, & Environment. 373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2024.109112
- Portmann, J.M.*, Davenport G.H.**, Starinchak B.H.*, Griscom, H.P. 2024. A preliminary assessment of water quality in silvopastoral systems of Panama’s dry tropical forest. Neotropical Biology and Conservation. 19(2). 173-183. doi: 10.3897/neotropical.19.e111865
- Brown, C *, Griscom, H. 2023. Assessing red spruce restoration potential under current and future predicted climate change in Virginia. Restoration Ecology. 31(8). DOI:10.1111/rec.14034
** denotes undergraduate or graduate student collaborator
