Primary Research Interests: My work addresses the causes and management implications of ecosystem dynamics in drylands and other ecological systems. I study processes at several spatial scales as a basis for understanding the formation and maintenance of alternative ecosystem states. I link research to management applications including “ecological site” land classifications, assessment and monitoring tools, and evaluations of restoration effects. This work has involved measurements and analysis of plant and animal community pattern and dynamics, plant growth/reproduction, characterization of soil surface and soil profile properties, mapping of vegetation, and social-ecological system perspectives. Applications are focused on US land management agencies and institutions in Mongolia, China, and Argentina.