Research in the Brudvig Lab lies at the intersection of plant community, restoration, and landscape ecology.  We address questions about how and why space matters for plant communities and what this means for their restoration.  Much of our work is centered around large-scale experiments – among the world’s best experimental tests in landscape ecology.  To provide strong linkages between basic science and its application, we collaborate with several land management agencies.

Our work spans a number of ecosystems including oak savannas, woodlands, and prairies in the Midwest, and longleaf pine woodlands in the southeast.

Some current projects (click images for more info):

The Remnant Expansion Project

What factors maintain boundaries between remnants and the surrounding landscape matrix?

Can we develop restoration methods to overcome these constraints – i.e., how can we get remnants to grow?


Longleaf pine woodland community assembly and restoration

What factors underlie community assembly in degraded ecosystems and during their restoration?  

How do we restore communities that vary in their initial levels of degradation?

.The Corridor Project

How do habitat fragmentation and connectivity by landscape corridors influence plant populations and communities?  

How are these impacts shaped by plant/animal interactions?

Oak savanna restoration

How do we best restore encroached oak savannas?

What are the biodiversity and ecosystem-level consequences of restoration?