The Environmental Studies and Geology Division at Alfred University are presenting weekly talks on environmental topics this fall.
Please join us this Friday to hear this week’s speaker! Dr. Stephen Tulowiecki give a talk titled “Mapping the Historical Distribution of American Chestnut in Western New York.”
Stephen J. Tulowiecki is an Associate Professor of Geography & Sustainability Studies at The State University of New York at Geneseo. He teaches courses in varied topics such as geographic information systems, statistics, environmental issues, and mountain geography. His research interests are in forest ecosystems of the eastern US, particularly Native American management of forested landscapes, and the geographic distribution of rare and interesting tree species such as the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) and pawpaw (Asimina triloba).
Essential to the successful restoration of the American chestnut is knowing the optimal environmental conditions for the tree species, as well as knowing its past geographic distribution. But how do researchers know where chestnut trees grew in the past – a species which went functionally extinct more than a century ago? This talk covers the methods of mapping and modeling the historical distribution of the American chestnut. The talk will explain how researchers have used historical observations of chestnut to inform models of the past distribution of chestnut. It will also show how comparing historical observations with climate, soil, terrain, and land-use data can reveal the environmental conditions under which the chestnut thrived.
