Naomi Schwartz
Research Area
Education
Columbia University, 2017, PhD
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, MSc
Duke University, BA
About
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.
Teaching
Publications
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