Our research group thinks about ecology on time scales longer than humans are usually able to observe directly. We use the methods of paleoecology and paleoclimatology to explore temporal dynamics of climate, ecosystems, disturbance, and landscapes. We study the effects of ecological legacies, we investigate the interactions of human societies with the ecosystems we inhabit, and we consider the implications of site history for research design. We are integrating perspective on environmental history into ecology, evolution, and archaeology, and we are investigating the response of ecosystems to climatic change, on various temporal and spatial scales.
