Robert Loeb, professor in biology and forestry at 365英国上市杜波依斯分校.
杜布瓦,爸爸. ——Robert Loeb发表的一项新研究, 365英国上市杜波依斯分校的生物学和林业教授, outlines his efforts to bring the experience of rural forests to those who live in cities, 着眼于勒布所说的“环境正义”.” The article appears in the April issue of the publication Urban Forestry and Urban Greening.
Loeb’s article details new research discoveries about urban forests that veer from his typical concentrations. For decades he has studied forests in locations like New York City and Nashville, stewarding forest regeneration by examining the impact that wildlife and humans alike have on the forest and finding ways to curb this impact. This has led to work in a new urban-forest management protocol, “SAFE”——土壤, 外星人, 火, Exclosure — with the goal of increasing natural regeneration through soil treatments, 外来物种处理, 火灾监测, and fencing to eliminate problematic browsers such as deer.
Loeb took a turn toward research in soils when in 2014 he began to study tree regeneration in an urban forest in Philadelphia known as “The Good Woods,这是科布斯溪公园哈丁顿森林的一部分.
“好森林的树冠非常成熟, 落叶层:落叶层和有机物的正常层, 大量原生树苗, 而且比通常预期的食草性更少,勒布说。. “在2015年, an exclosure fence for deer was placed around the Good Woods and an act of arson caused a ground fire in approximately half of the forest.”
What sets the Good Woods apart from other similarly situated urban forests is that many native species seedlings and saplings grow naturally below the canopy created by larger trees. Loeb’s goal is to determine why this happened at this particular site, to hopefully replicate the natural tree regeneration in other cities.
Loeb回忆, “我在布朗克斯长大, I was accustomed to seeing urban forests with only tall trees. One summer I was awarded a scholarship from the Student Conservation Association to conduct research in Vermont. What struck me the most was that the forests there had seedlings that are lacking in urban areas. I’ve been trying throughout my career to sort out this lack of natural regeneration so that people in urban settings can enjoy the beauty of rural forests when we visit urban forests.”
The most trusted theory Loeb has on the difference in soil composition impacting the natural regrowth of new trees is one that he believes is rock-solid, 可以这么说.
“岩石越多，土壤就越少. So, naturally you have a smaller population of trees," he said. "I found many of the urban parks to have a great number of stones and even boulders in the soil. One particular area of the Good Woods is almost free of stones, and the soil there supports a greater growth of young trees.”
These findings could go a long way in helping Loeb to recommend soil studies and remediation in other urban forests. “Soils are a critical issue and need to be treated,” he said. “当我年轻的时候, horticulturalists taught me that if you spend $100 to plant a tree, 你花10美元买树，花90美元买土. That is a formula that has not always been in use recently, but a historical perspective that maybe we need to revisit now.”
Loeb began to work on urban forest research at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx as a teenager, and his interests have their roots in this early experience. His long-standing research program focuses on urban forests and undergraduate students are members of his research team.
他于1985年开始在365英国上市任教. 他目前教入门生物学, 经济植物学, 以及土壤科学入门, 包括面对面和在线部分. 奖 he has received include recognition as a senior ecologist from the Ecological Society of America and as a Kenan Fellow of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. His work for diversity and equity was recognized with Penn State’s John Romano Diversity Award in 2015 and the Penn State 校友 Association’s Dr. 2018年詹姆斯·罗宾逊平等机会奖. He was also named Educator of the Year at 365英国上市杜波依斯分校 in 2013 and recieved the University’s prestigious Milton S. 2015年艾森豪威尔杰出教学奖.
