We ask how people, land, climate, and biodiversity affect each other. We study housing growth and its ecological effects, land cover and land use change, wildlife habitat and biodiversity patterns, and how weather affects them. Much of our research examines broad spatial scales, and common tools include remote sensing, GIS, field datasets, and statistical modeling. We strive to be one of the top research labs in the world that link remote sensing, land use change, and biodiversity.
We collaborate closely with land managers and researchers in organizations such as the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Audubon Society, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and The Nature Conservancy so that our research is readily translated into conservation actions.
SILVIS RESEARCH
Legend
All Research Stories
Mapping the human footprint in the forests of Argentina
August 11, 202350 years of housing growth in the WUI in California
February 8, 2021What is driving land degradation in the Caucasus Mountains?
February 6, 2019Where and how well are mongooses doing in Puerto Rico?
January 20, 2016Measuring trail use with remote detectors
January 7, 2016Satellite Classification of Tree Species
January 6, 2016Habitat connectivity for the Indochinese tiger in Thailand
January 14, 2015Forest Changes in the Altay
January 14, 2015Recreational trails are affecting bird reproduction
March 31, 2014The power of maps and the beauty of old ones
January 16, 2014It is getting weirder – extreme events in satellite records
January 16, 2014Forest degradation in Mexico and spectral mixture analysis
January 16, 2014Using Bayesian statistics to predict housing growth in the U.S.
January 15, 2014Do birds track climate or weather?
January 15, 2014Vegetation structure and bird populations across the U.S.
February 25, 2013Where do fires destroy homes in the United States?
January 28, 2013It’s all a game – Land Use and Conservation in everyone’s hands
January 28, 2013How are birds breeding in New England affected by the weather?
January 28, 2013Housing development is eroding the value of protected lands
January 28, 2013Small-versus large-scale farming in Eastern Europe
January 24, 2013Monitoring of deforestation and forest degradation in Mexico
January 24, 2013New multi-scale landscape indices for spatial pattern analysis
September 28, 2010Land-cover change, people and jaguars – remote sensing or close sensing?
September 15, 2010It’s getting hot – heatwave and drought effects on birds
August 9, 2010Institutional change and logging in post-Soviet Russia
August 9, 2010Simulating future land use across the United States
July 30, 2010Optimizing fuel treatment locations in the WUI
July 14, 2010Can Wisconsin’s Wood Warblers Cope With the Loss of Oaks?
January 28, 2010