Leland K Werden
- Interests
- Research Areas
- Research Projects
- Recent Publications
- Recent Publications
- Media Coverage
- Media Coverage
- Outreach
- Outreach
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Lead Scientist @ ETH Zürich
Interests
Restoration and conservation | Ecosystem Ecology | Nature Tech
I am a restoration ecologist who focuses on developing tools to conserve and restore degraded forests. My work has spanned ecosystems from the temperate forests of the Northeastern United States to the tropical wet and dry forests of Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Mexico. I am committed to collaborating directly with restoration and conservation practitioners, which enables me not only to advance basic ecological and restoration theory, but also to apply effective approaches within large-scale projects.
I am currently a lead scientist in the Global Ecosystem Ecology group at ETH Zürich, where I develop collaborative projects focused on understanding and improving global conservation and restoration outcomes, and determining how to optimize finance flows towards restoration. I also serve as the Chief Scientific Advisor for the Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation.
See more on my CV or Google scholar profile. Click here for a video of me discussing some of my work on ThinkTech Hawaii.
Research Areas
Taking the pulse of the global restoration movement
Worldwide
As a restoration ecologist in the Crowther Lab at ETH Zürich I co-lead the Global Experiments Network (GEN) with Rebecca Cole. Our work is focused on synthesizing the results of global restoration outcomes and developing a network of sites across Central and South America to quantify the rates of ecosystem recovery under different restoration interventions. Our recent work has categorized the motivations, methods, and costs of restoration projects across Latin America and evaluated the potential of using emerging technology for restoration monitoring. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you are interested in being involved!
Developing tools to restore tropical forests
Costa Rica
In collaboration with Estación Experimental Forestal Horizontes, I have developed projects using native trees to restore degraded tropical dry forests. Results thus far have enabled us to determine which tree species are suitable for restoration plantings on degraded Vertisol soils, and that ecophysiological and root traits are the best predictors of seedling performance. With these results in hand we used a functional trait-driven approach to design species mixes for 6-hectares of restoration planting which we are using to test successional and restoration theory. Haga clic aquí para una descripción en español.
Determining the impacts of abiotic conditions on restoration outcomes
Costa Rica
I am currently undertaking projects focused on uncovering how abiotic conditions at reintroduction and restoration sites contribute to outcomes of tropical forest restorations. The goal of these projects is not only to improve restoration practice, but also to further the understanding of how environmental filtering impacts plant establishment and persistence in degraded environments.
Using UAVs for ecosystem and wildlife monitoring
Costa Rica and Minnesota
As part of an interdisciplinary team I have helped to develop best-practice guidelines for observing wildlife with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Additionally, I am currently using UAVs to collect aerial imagery of secondary forests in Costa Rica to track forest regeneration and dynamics.
Recent Publications
For a complete list of my publications see my Google scholar profile or CV.
Leland K. Werden, Rebecca J. Cole, Katrin Schönhofer, Karen D. Holl, Rakan A. Zahawi, Colin Averill, Daniella Schweizer, Julio C. Calvo-Alvarado, Debra Hamilton, Francis H. Joyce, Miriam San-José, Florian Hofhansl, Lilly Briggs, David Rodríguez, Jeffrey W. Tingle, Fidel Chiriboga, Eben N. Broadbent, Gerald J. Quirós-Cedeño, Thomas W. Crowther. 2024. One Earth 7(9): 1515-1528.
Rebecca J. Cole, Leland K. Werden (equal contribution), Chiriboga, F.E., Quirós Cedeño, G., Mendez Quiros, K., Crowther, T.W. 2024. Forest restoration in practice across Latin America. Biological Conservation.
Leland K. Werden, Colin Averill, Thomas W. Crowther, Erick Calderón-Morales, Laura Toro, Pedro Alvarado J., Milena Gutiérrez L., Danielle E. Mallory, Jennifer S. Powers. 2023. Philosophical Transactions B 378.
Leland K. Werden, Karen D. Holl, José Miguel Chaves-Fallas, Federico Oviedo-Brenes, Juan Abel Rosales, Rakan A. Zahawi. 2021. Journal of Applied Ecology 58: 1693-1704.
Leland K. Werden, Karen D. Holl, Juan Abel Rosales, Janelle M. Sylvester, Rakan A. Zahawi. 2020. Ecological Applications 30: e02139.
Leland K. Werden, Erick Calderón‐Morales, Pedro Alvarado J., Milena Gutiérrez L., Derek A. Nedveck, Jennifer S. Powers. 2020. Ecological Applications 30: e02116..
Leland K. Werden, Nellie C. Sugii, Lauren Weisenberger, Matthew J. Keir, Gregory Koob, Rakan A. Zahawi. 2020. Biological Conservation 243.
Leland K. Werden, Pedro Alvarado J., Sebastian Zarges, Erick Calderón M., Erik M. Schilling, Milena Gutiérrez L., Jennifer S. Powers. 2018. Journal of Applied Ecology 55 (2): 1019-1028.
Leland K. Werden, Justin M. Becknell, Jennifer S. Powers. 2018. Functional Ecology 32 (12): 2766-2776.
Mark A. Ditmer, John B. Vincent, Leland K. Werden, Jessie C. Tanner, Timothy G. Laske, Paul A. Iaizzo, David L. Garshelis, John R. Fieberg. 2015. Current Biology 25: 1-6.
Media Coverage
Outreach
I develop and implement outreach activities that engage with a wide range of audiences. In collaboration with Estación Experimental Forestal Horizontes I led interactive field trips to restoration sites in English and Spanish for university faculty, college and high school students, and restoration and forestry professionals.
To share my passion for forest restoration and ecophysiology with the general public, I co-designed and co-led sessions for Market Science, a volunteer organization that creates and teaches hands-on science curricula in Minnesota with the goal of making science exciting and accessible.
I have also edited the blog for the NSF-funded PARTNERS (People and Reforestation in the Tropics, a Network for Education, Research, and Synthesis) Research Coordination Network. Check it out!
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