Project Description: 

Agriculture covers an estimated 40% of the Earth's terrestrial land surface, and demand for agricultural products is expected to increase in the near future. Deforestation and conversion of grasslands for agriculture are major conservation concerns disproportionately affecting tropical biomes, even as these ecosystems have a higher proportion of biodiversity than temperate biomes. Agroforestry and agroecological methods have been proposed as ways to reconcile biodiversity conservation and agriculture in tropical areas. After many years of individual studies, there is finally enough research to judge this sentiment on scientific grounds.

This project started with compiling a comprehensive list of all agroforestry papers focusing on biodiversity conservation in tropical ecosystems from the past 40 years and now has moved on to reviewing this body of literature in terms of methods, focus crops, and tropical biome. Data is also being harvested from these papers for a meta-analysis. I expect that this review/meta-analysis will reveal three major weakness:  (1) A heavy focus on charismatic crops rather than crops important for food security or crops that cover the most land area; (2) A lack of sampling in reference habitats; (3) An incomplete consideration of landscape context and composition. This review will push the field of conservation biology further by highlighting the ways in which expanding the literature will be most effective in helping policymakers to achieve more effective conservation planning.

Department: 
ESPM
Undergraduate's Role: 

Under the supervision of a senior biologist, the undergraduate student will help with all aspects of the meta-analysis. These interesting but mostly repetitive computer tasks include reading paper abstracts for inclusion criteria, reading included papers in order to harvest both qualitative and quantitative data, enter and analyze data. If there is interest, the undergraduate could be involved in a spin-off analysis project for a senior thesis that uses the same dataset. The student will be given time at the beginning of their tenure to read summaries, questions and review preliminary results in order to understand the project in a larger context.

This an excellent opportunity for students interested in gaining experience in reading scientific publications and learning new statistical skills. 

Undergraduate's Qualifications: 

Interest in agroecology and conservation. Experience reading scientific papers for understanding and debate and/or harvesting data for meta-analyses preferred but not required. Initiative, patience, attention to detail and self-motivation are essential.

Location: 
On Campus
Hours: 
To be negotiated