LEMMA Team Detail

Harold Zald Former position: Research Ecologist Dept. of Forest Ecosystems and Society Oregon State University

Educational Background

B.S., 1997 (resource ecology and management) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
M.S., 2002 (resource ecology and management) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Ph.D., 2010 (forest ecology) Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

Research Interests

Multi-scale controls of treeline movement and tree invasion in complex terrain; integrating field vegetation surveys with remotely sensed data; ecology, management, and restoration of ecosystems sensitive to climate change and alterations to their historical disturbance regimes; Biotic and abiotic influences on drought stress in trees; quantifying rates, spatial patterns, and causes of land cover change at multiple spatial scales.

Biography

Harold has been a postdoctoral researcher working with the LEMMA team since 2011. He is focused on integrating high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) data into GNN models, and evaluating the influence of lidar and input data grain size on GNN model accuracy. His Ph.D. research focused on combining dendrochronology techniques (tree-rings), remotely sensed data, and historical climate to reconstruct spatiotemporal patterns past tree invasion into subalpine meadows in the Oregon Cascades. From 2002 to 2005, Harold was a research ecologist with the PNW Research Station, studying the impacts of prescribed fire and thinning on regeneration of mixed-conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada. When not working, Harold enjoys backpacking, hiking, fishing, gardening, beekeeping, and fermentation sciences.