SFR - Faculty: Margot W. Kaye

	Title:	Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology
	Phone:	814-865-4841
	Email:	mwk12@psu.edu
	Address:	The Pennsylvania State University School of Forest Resources 303 Forest Resources Building University Park, PA 16802

Education:
: B.A. University of Virginia 1993
M.S. University of Arizona 1997
Ph.D. Colorado State University 2002

Academic Interests:: Vegetation dynamics, dendrochronology, disturbance history, paleoclimatology, environmental change.

Courses Taught:
: Forest Fire Management; Dendrology

Recent Research/Educational Projects:
Climate and Woodland Expansion in the central Great Plains, USA
Over the past century, woodland expansion into former grasslands has been documented in many areas of the west-central Great Plains. We are investigating the role of climate in 19th and 20th century woodland expansion by comparing the timing and location of the expansion to local climate variations and the onset of widespread human land use. Paleoecological (packrat middens) and paleoclimatological records are being used to determine whether other expansions have occurred in the past or whether post-1850s vegetation movements are unprecedented in character.
Dynamics of quaking aspen in the central Rocky Mountains, USA
Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the Rocky Mountains provides high-quality habitat to a diversity of plant and animal species and is valued for its aesthetic beauty. Ecologists and land managers have voiced concern about this valued vegetation type because of the potential negative impacts of fire suppression and large elk populations on aspen. I have been involved in several projects that focus on both the long-term and large-scale dynamics of aspen in the central Rocky Mountains and, more specifically, within the region of Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. The results of these projects have shared a common theme: aspen is a resilient species that persists on the landscape in highly diverse forms.

Reconstructing the structure and function of old-growth forests in Pennsylvania, USA
Patches of old-growth forests persist in Pennsylvania in a sea of second-growth forests. These patches provide information on the structure and function of old-growth forests that can be used as guidelines for managing both old-growth and younger, second-growth forests. Legacies of old-growth forests are found scattered throughout the land. Examples of these unique sites include a 19th century blowdown area and a population of white pine stumps preserved over 100 years beneath sediments created by a splash dam. The goal of my research is to create a network of old-growth research sites throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states to study the structure and function of relic old-growth forests and to use this information to develop management strategies for preserving and promoting old forests in the region.

Ecological Impacts of a Bark Beetle Outbreak on Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests
In the year 2000, increased forest density and fuel loads resulting from fire suppression were thought to be the key issues in management of southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, but a wide-spread bark beetle (Ips spp., Dendroctonus brevicomis) outbreak beginning in 2001 presented a complicated ecological surprise. This project examines the consequences of beetle outbreaks on biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and animal habitat within the pine forests and sets up a long-term monitoring infrastructure to observe the legacy of the outbreak on ponderosa pine forest dynamics.
Selected Publications:

Kaye, M.W., D. Binkely, and T.J. Stohlgren, 2005. Effects of conifer invasion and elk browsing on quaking aspen forests in the central Rocky Mountains, USA. Ecological Applications 15(4): 1284-1295.

Kaye, J.P., S.C. Hart, P.Z. Fulé, W.W. Covington, M.M. Moore, M.W. Kaye, 2005. Initial carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous fluxes following ponderosa pine restoration treatments. Ecological Applications 15(5):1581-1593.

Kaye, M.W., D. Binkely, and T.J. Stohlgren. In press. Long-term impacts of conifer invasion and elk browsing on quaking aspen forests in the central Rocky Mountains, USA. Ecological Applications.
Kaye, M.W., T.J. Stohlgren, D. Binkley, 2003. Aspen structure and variability in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Landscape Ecology 18:591-603.

Brown, P.B., M.W. Kaye, L.S. Huckaby, and C.H. Baisan, 2001. Local and regional influences on fire history in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico. Ecoscience 8: 105-114.

Kaye, J.P., S.C. Resh, M.W. Kaye, R.S. Chimner, 2000. Nutrient and carbon dynamics in a replacement series of Eucalyptus and Albizia trees. Ecology 81: 3267-3273.

Brown, P.M., M.W. Kaye, and D. Buckley, 1999. Fire history in Douglas-fir and coast redwood forests at Point Reyes National Seashore, California. Northwest Science, 73: 205-216.

Kaye, M.W. and T.W. Swetnam, 1999. An assessment of fire, climate, and apache history in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, USA. Physical Geography 20: 305-330.