Alan Taylor 
EESI Associate
Alan Taylor
Contact Information:
Department of Geography, Associate Director, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute
309 Walker Building
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: (814) 865-1509
email: aht1@psu.edu
Dept. website: http://www.geog.psu.edu/people/taylor-alan
Current Research Interests:
I have broad research interests in ecological biogeography and vegetation dynamics, particularly the role of natural and human disturbance and climate variation on forest dynamics. Much of my recent research has focused on identifying the influence of changes and interactions of land use history and climate on fire disturbance and forest conditions in the western United States. I address both theoretical and applied questions in my research and use a wide range of methodological approaches including tree ring analysis, spatial analysis and statistical modeling, simulation modeling, and historical ecology. I have also conducted research on the dynamics of subalpine bamboo forests with giant pandas in southwest China and on highland bamboo forests in mountain gorilla habitat in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda. At Penn State I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Global Ecology and Biogeography, Geographical Ecology, Forest Geography, Landscape Ecology, Vegetation Dynamics, and Invasive Species.
Selected Publications:
Bekker, M.F., Taylor, A.H. Fire Disturbance, Forest Structure, and Stand Dynamics in Montane Forests of the Southern Cascades, Thousand Lakes Wilderness, California, USA. Ecoscience 17: pdf file (2010).
Pierce, A.D., Taylor, A.H. Competition and regeneration in quaking aspen–white fir (Populus tremuloides–Abies concolor) forests in the Northern Sierra Nevada, USA. Journal of Vegetation Science 21: pdf file 1.73mb (2010).
Scholl, A.E., Taylor, A.H. Fire regimes, forest changes, and self-organization in an old-growth mixed conifer forest, Yosemite National Park, USA. Ecological Applications 20: pdf file 1.6mb (2010).
Taylor, A.H. Fire disturbance and the structure and dynamics of an old-growth P. ponderosa forest in the southern Cascades, USA. Journal of Vegetation Science 21: pdf file 226k (2010).
Trouet, V., Taylor, A.H. Multi-century variability in the Pacific North America circulation pattern reconstructed from tree rings. Climate Dynamics 34: pdf file 683k (2010).
Trouet, V., Taylor, A.H., Wahl, E., Skinner, C.N., Stephens, S.L. Fire-climate interactions in the western United States since 1400 CE. Geophysical Research Letters: pdf file 524k (2010).
Beaty, R.M. Taylor, A.H. A 14,000 year sedimentary charcoal record of fire from the northern Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe Basin, California. The Holocene 19:347-358. pdf file 431k (2009).
Gill, L., Taylor, A.H. Top-down and bottom-up controls on fire regimes along an environmental gradient on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada, California. Fire Ecology 5:54-72. pdf file 1.04mb (2009).
Skinner, C.N., Abbott, C.S., Fry, D.L., Stephens, S.L., Taylor, A.H., Trouet. V. Human and climatic influences on fire occurrence in California's North Coast Range. Fire Ecology 5:73-95 pdf file 5.69mb (2009).
Trouet, V., Taylor, A.H., Carleton, A.M., Skinner, C.N. Interannual variations in fire weather, fire extent, and Pacific teleconnections in northern California and Oregon. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 95:349-360. pdf file 572k (2009).
van Mantgem, P.J., Stephenson, N. L., Byrne, J.C., Daniels, L.D., Franklin, J.F., Fule, P.Z., Harmon, M.E., Smith, J.M., Taylor, A.H., Veblen, T.T. Widespread increase in tree mortality in the western United States. Science 323:521-524. pdf file 355k (2009).