Our lab’s research addresses questions about the causes and consequences of disturbance and extreme events in tropical forest landscapes. Climate and land-use change are already altering the frequency and intensity of disturbance and climate extremes. Can we predict which forests will be most vulnerable to these events? What are the processes that underlie spatial heterogeneity in forest responses to disturbance and climate extremes? How do these events shape forest landscapes? To address these themes, we use a variety of tools including remote sensing and GIS, forest censuses, plant functional trait measurements, and socio-economic surveys.

2022

Schwartz, N.B., D. Medvigy, J. Tijerin, D Perez-Aviles, D Rivera-Polanco, D. Pereira, G. Vargas G., L. Werden, L. Arnold, J.S. Powers, D. Du. 2022. Intra-annual variation in microclimate conditions in relation to vegetation type and structure in two tropical dry forests undergoing secondary succession. Forest Ecology and Management 511, 120132. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120132

Piffer, P. R., A. Calaboni, M. R. Rosa, N. B. Schwartz, L. R. Tambosi, M. Uriarte. 2022. Ephemeral forest regeneration limits carbon sequestration potential in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Global Change Biology 28: 630-643. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15944

2021

Vargas G., G., T.J. Brodribb, J.M. Dupuy, R. Gonzalez-M, C.M. Hulshof, D. Medvigy, T.A.P. Allerton, C. Pizano, B. Salgado-Negret, N.B. Schwartz, S.J. Van Bloem, B.G. Waring, J.S. Powers. 2021. Beyond leaf habit: generalities in plant function across 97 tropical dry forest tree species. New Phytologist 232 (1): 148-161. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17584

FIORELLA, K. J., BAGEANT, E. R.,  SCHWARTZ, N. B., THILSTED, S. H. and BARRETT, C. B. 2021 ‘Fishers’ response to temperature change reveals the importance of integrating human behavior in climate change analysis’ Science Advances 7(18)  DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc7425

WARING, B. G., DE GUZMAN, M. E., DU, D. V., DUPUY, J. M., GEI, M., GUTKNECHT, J., HULSHOF, C., JELINSKI, N., MARGENOT, A. J., MEDVIGY, D., PIZANO, C., SALGADO-NEGRET, B., SCHWARTZ, N. B., TRIERWEILER, A. M., VAN BLOEM, S. J., VARGAS G., G. and POWERS, J. S. 2021 ‘Soil biogeochemistry across Central and South American tropical dry forests’ Ecological Monographs 91(3) https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1453

2020

SCHWARTZ, N. B., FENG, X., MUSCARELLA, R., SWENSON, N. G., UMAÑA, M. N., ZIMMERMAN, J. K. and URIARTE, M. 2020 ‘Topography and Traits Modulate Tree Performance and Drought Response in a Tropical Forest’ Frontiers in Forests and Global Change https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.596256

SCHWARTZ, N. B., LINTNER, B. R., FENG, X. and POWERS, J. S. 2020 ‘Beyond MAP: A guide to dimensions of rainfall variability for tropical ecology’ Biotropica 52(6), 1319-1332  https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12830

HUECHACONA-RUIZ, A. H., DUPUY, J. M., SCHWARTZ, N. B., POWERS, J. S., REYES-GARCIA, C., TUN-DZUL, F. and HERNÁNDEZ-STEFANONI, J. L. 2020 ‘Mapping Tree Species Deciduousness of Tropical DryForests Combining Reflectance, Spectral Unmixing,and Texture Data from High-Resolution Imagery’ Forests 11(11)  https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111234

SCHWARTZ, N. B., AIDE, T. M., GRAESSER, J., GRAU, H. R. and URIARTE, M. 2020 ‘Reversals of Reforestation Across Latin America Limit Climate Mitigation Potential of Tropical Forests’ Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 3, 85 https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00085

POWERS, J. S., VARGAS, G. G., BRODRIBB, T. J., SCHWARTZ, N. B., PÉREZ-AVILES, D. […] MEDVIGY, D. 2020 ‘A catastrophic tropical drought kills hydraulically vulnerable tree species’ Global Change Biology 26(5), 3122-3133 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15037

2019

POORTER, L. and many others including SCHWARTZ, N. B. 2019 ‘Wet and dry tropical forests show opposite successional pathways in wood density but converge over time’ Nature Ecology and Evolution 3(6), 928-934   DOI:  10.1038/s41559-019-0882-6

ROZENDAAL, D. M. A., + 85 others including SCHWARTZ, N. B. 2019 ‘Biodiversity recovery of Neotropical secondary forests’ Science Advances 5(3), eaau3114    DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau3114

SCHWARTZ, N. B., BUDSOCK, A. M. and URIARTE, M. 2019 ‘Fragmentation, forest structure, and topography modulate impacts of drought in a tropical forest landscape’ Ecology 100(6) https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2677

FAGAN, M. and SCHWARTZ, N. B. 2019 ‘Exploring the Social and Ecological Trade-offs in Tropical Reforestation: A Role-Playing Exercise’ Lessons in Conservation 9(1), 38-54   https://ncep.amnh.org/index.php/Detail/objects/1026

2018

MENGE, D. N. L., MACPHERSON, A. C., BYTNEROWICZ, T. A., QUEBBERMAN, A. W., SCHWARTZ, N. B., TAYLOR, B. N. and WOLF, A. A. 2018 ‘Logarithmic scales in ecological data presentation may cause misinterpretation’ Nature Ecology and Evolution 2, 1393-1402   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0610-7

GEI, M., ROZENDAAL, D. M. A., + 68 others including SCHWARTZ, N. B. 2018 ‘Legume abundance along successional and rainfall gradients in Neotropical forests’ Nature Ecology and Evolution 2, 1104-1111   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0559-6

2017

SCHWARTZ, N. B., URIARTE, M., DEFRIES, R., BEDKA, K., GUTIERREZ-VELEZ, V., FERNANDES, K. and PINEDO-VASQUEZ, M. A. 2017 ‘Fragmentation increases wind disturbance impacts on forest structure and carbon stocks in a western Amazonian landscape’ Ecological Applications 27(6), 1901-1915   https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1576

SCHWARTZ, N. B., URIARTE, M., DEFRIES, R., GUTIERREZ-VELEZ, V. H. and PINEDO-VASQUEZ, M. A. 2017 ‘Land-use dynamics influence estimates of carbon sequestration potential in tropical second-growth forest’ Environmental Research Letters 12(7), 074023   https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa708b

TAYLOR, B. N., PATTERSON, A. E., + 21 others including SCHWARTZ, N. B. 2017 ‘Growth and physiology of a dominant understory shrub, Hamamelis virginiana, following canopy disturbance in a temperate hardwood forest’ Canadian Journal of Forest Research 47(2), 193-202   https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2016-0208