Expertise:
Habitat Restoration Post-Wildfire, Remote Sensing in Habitat Restoration, Rebuilding Native Plant Habitats, Invasive Plants, Conservation of Threatened and Endangered Plant Species, Plant-Animal Interactions, EcologyProfessor Erin Questad works to promote and restore native species to their natural habitats. Current projects in California and Hawaii involve using remote sensing data to test questions related to landscape planning and invasive plant dynamics for restoration and reintroduction. Her projects combine high-resolution remote sensing data with field-based studies to improve restoration outcomes in dry ecosystems. Following wildfires in the Angeles National Forest, one project is mapping vegetation change to identify sites that might have the best success with human intervention. A second project is testing how to select which restoration treatments to use in different areas of the Angeles National Forest.
Recent Grants and Fellowships:
- Agricultural Research Institute at Cal Poly Pomona, “Novel methods for post-fire restoration and management in California wildlands,” $176,664, with N. Stavros (Co-PI, NASA JPL), 2018-2020
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory funding for HBCU/MI, “Remote sensing ground truth for imaging spectroscopy in the Angeles National Forest,” $50,000 ($40,000 to Cal Poly Pomona), with D. Schimel (PI, NASA JPL) and S. Bonfield (Co-PI, Environment for the Americas), 2018
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, “Assessment, Prioritization, and Planning for Restoration and Conservation Activities on the Angeles National Forest,” $287,547 ($51,297 to Cal Poly Pomona), with S. Bonfield (PI) and D. Schimel (Co-PI), 2018-2019
- Agricultural Research Institute at Cal Poly, Pomona, “Uses of Southern California Black Walnut (Juglans californica) in landscaping, restoration, and control of weedy plant species,” $363,085., PI with Co-PI’s E. Bobich and K. Bozak, 2014-2018
- Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program, “Remote sensing technology for threatened and endangered plant species recovery,” $1,389,910 ($474,356 to Cal Poly, Pomona), PI with Co-PI’s J. Kellner and S. Cordell, 2012-2017
Selected Publications:
- With others, in press, Bird diversity response to the interactive effects of drought, fire, and urbanization. Western Birds in press.
- With others, “Resource availability, propagule supply, and the effect of non-native, ungulate herbivores on Senecio madagascariensis invasion,” Pacific Science 72(1): 69-79, 2018
- With others, “Remote sensing for restoration planning: how the big picture can inform stakeholders,” 25 Restoration Ecology S147, 2017
- With others, “Primary succession on a Hawaiian dryland chronosequence,” PLOS One, 2015
- With others, “Mapping habitat suitability for at‐risk plant species and its implications for restoration and reintroduction,” Ecological Applications 24 (2): 385-395,March 2014 (Editor’s Choice section in Science (4 April 2014) Vol 344, pg. 11
- With others, “Patterns and consequences of re-invasion into a Hawaiian dry forest restoration,” 14 Biological Invasions 2573, 2012
Interviews:
- Science Friday, “One Force Driving Deadlier Wildfires? People,” Prof. Questad discusses habitat restoration post-wildfires, August 10, 2018
- “Take Two,” KPCC Radio (Southern California National Public Radio), “Helping the Landscape recover from Fire,” August 6, 2018 (starting at 12:20)
Education:
Ph.D. with honors in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 2008
B.S., Biology, Penn State University, 1997