Research in the Restoration Ecology Lab focuses on three primary areas:1) effects of large-scale disturbance on understory plants and trees, 2) efficacy and ecological impacts of ecological restoration treatments, and 3) sampling methods for detecting changes in understory plant abundance.These topics are being explored at landscape, population, and organism scales, through field experiments, retrospective studies, and meta-analyses. Cara and her students are particularly interested in projects that contribute to basic knowledge of plant ecology, provide managers with timely information about the ecological effects of management interventions, and increase understanding of the conceptual foundations of ecological restoration.
