Human and Natural Forcings of Critical Zone Dynamics and Evolution at the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory (CZO).
National Science Foundation
Partners: Duke University (Lead); Georgia Tech; Kansas University; Roanoke College; Mississippi State University
National Science Foundation
Partners: Duke University (Lead); Georgia Tech; Kansas University; Roanoke College; Mississippi State University
The term critical zone refers to Earth’s outer skin and includes air, soil, rock, water, and organisms. In contrast to many critical zone (CZ) studies, the Calhoun CZO includes humans in its conceptual framework. The Calhoun is an Experimental Forest Station set in the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina. The interdisciplinary research, led by Duke University, is designed to improve the understanding of the dynamics and evolution of biota, landforms, soils, saprolites, and sediments that comprise Critical Zones (CZ) of the Southern Piedmont of North America. I work in partnership with an environmental historian to develop insights into the reciprocal relationships between humans and CZ processes in historical and contemporary times. My research is directed towards a) understanding how natural and human-induced changes in the CZ interact with human livelihoods, adaptation, and governance; and b) the implications of these insights for resource management. While much of the CZO is focused on the experimental station, our research also expands into the wider region.
|
Publications
Coughlan, M. R. and D. R. Nelson (2019). "Geostatistical analysis of historical contingency and land use footprints in the prehistoric settlement dynamics of the South Carolina Piedmont, North America." Journal of Archaeological Science 107: 1-9.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.04.003
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.04.003
Coughlan, M. R. and D. R. Nelson (2018). "Influences of Native American land use on the Colonial Euro-American settlement of the South Carolina Piedmont." PLoS One 13(3): e0195036. PDF
Coughlan, M., Nelson, D.R, Lonneman, M., & Block, A. (2017). Historical Land Use Dynamics in the Highly Degraded Landscape of the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory. Land, 6(2), 32. doi:10.3390/land6020032. PDF
Nelson, D. R., O’Neill, K. P., Coughlan, M. R., Lonneman, M. C., & Meyers, Z. (2016-10-03). Photographs from the Calhoun Experimental Forest, South Carolina, 1932 - 1987 [Data set]. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium of Political and Social Research [distributor]. http://doi.org/10.3886/E100276V2