Professor
Department of Geography
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
email: kupfer@sc.edu
phone: (803) 777-6739
fax: (803) 777-4972
Having lived and worked in a wide range of places, I've had the opportunity to work with a number of other researchers on a wide variety of projects. My interests are most specifically in spatial pattern-process relationships, with a particular interest in vegetation pattern and dynamics. There have been a number of recurring research themes throughout my career which I highlight below.
Sampling regrowth at the Bates Fork Tract,
Congaree NP.
The Sampson Island site, one of the three
study areas in our research on post-clearcut
stand initiation dynamics at Congaree NP.
Study plots in our examination of slash-and-
burn regeneration dynamics, Belize.
Recently cutover area near Lamanai, Belize.
Forest Fragmentation and Forest Edge Dynamics
My work stresses the manners by which spatial patterns of ecological phenomena interact with and constrain ecological processes. This line of inquiry is best illustrated by my longstanding interest in the effects of forest fragmentation, which started with my dissertation research on how forest edge communities alter successional processes in intact forests and has continued with studies of forest regeneration in Belizean agricultural fields, succesional dynamics in subalpine forests in Montana, post-logging recovery in montane forests in northern New Mexico, and national patterns of habitat loss and fragmentation as a means for assessing ecosystem health and sustainability. Many long-standing theories concerning the ecological effects of forest fragmentation stem from conceptualizations of landscapes in which forested ecosystems are viewed as islands of habitat embedded in an uninhabitable matrix of non-forested uses. While intuitively appealing, such a depiction has severe limitations for a range of reasons, including its inability to account for variability in habitat quality in both the forested and non-forested habitats. The ‘remnants as islands’ analogue is also conceptually flawed, in that it focuses attention almost solely on population (or metapopulation) dynamics within forested habitats while ignoring dynamic linkages and feedbacks with the non-forested habitat. My most recent work emphasizes the importance of documenting matrix-driven processes.
One component of understanding forest fragmentation effects is understanding the myriad ecological roles of forest edges. Because of their exposure to non-forested ecosystems, forest edges develop distinct environmental gradients that in turn lead to the development of unique forest edge communities dominated by a suite of species adapated to edge conditions (e.g., shade intolerant species). This is commonly referred to as the edge effect. My research in this area, however, has been more explicitly on how edge communities, in turn, may influence processes within interior forest areas by serving as sources for shade intolerant species seed fluxes, which can influence gap dynamic processes.
Representative Publications:
Kupfer, J.A. and Franklin, S.B. 2009. Linking spatial pattern and ecological responses in human-modified landscapes: The effects of deforestation and forest fragmentation on biodiversity. Geography Compass 3: 1331-1355. doi: 0.1111/j.1749-8198.2009.00245.x
Landscape Pattern Indicator Group (K. Cavender-Bares, R. O’Malley, N. Christensen, G.T. Bancroft, S.S. Bell, R. Brown, C. Frissell, J. Gross, S. Haines, D. Heagerty, A. Janetos, K.B. Jones, A.J. Jordan, J. Kupfer, J.A. LaGro, Jr., K. Riitters, G.J. Roloff, E. Thompson, Jr.). 2008. Landscape Pattern Indicators for the Nation. H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, Washington, DC. 108 pp.
National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry. 2007. Conserving Biodiversity through Sustainable Forestry: A Guide to Applying NCSSF Research. National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry, Washington, DC. (chapter contributor)
Malanson, G.P., Wang, Q. and Kupfer, J.A. 2007. Ecological processes and spatial patterns before, during and after simulated deforestation. Ecological Modelling 202: 397-409.
Kupfer, J.A. 2006. National assessments of forest fragmentation patterns in the U.S. Global Environmental Change – Human and Policy Dimensions 16: 73-82.
Kupfer, J.A., Malanson, G.P. and Franklin, S.B. 2006. Not seeing the ocean for the islands: The influence of matrix-based processes on forest fragmentation effects. Global Ecology and Biogeography 15: 8-20.
Kupfer, J.A, Webbeking, A.L., and Franklin, S.B. 2004. The effects of landscape structure on plant regeneration patterns and soil characteristics in shifting cultivation fields near Indian Church, Belize. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 103: 509–518.
Kupfer, J.A. and Malanson, G.P. 2004. The biodiversity crisis. In: WorldMinds: Geographical Perspectives on 100 Problems. Warf, B., Hansen, K, and Janelle, D. (eds.). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 273-277.
Kupfer, J.A., Malanson, G.P. and Franklin, S.B. 2003. Identifying the biodiversity research needs related to forest fragmentation. National Commission for Science on Sustainable Forestry, Washington, DC. 218 pp. (revised, 2/2004)
Kupfer, J.A. and Runkle, J.R. 2003. Edge-mediated effects on stand dynamic processes in forest interiors: a coupled field and simulation approach. Oikos 101: 135-146.
Kupfer, J.A., Malanson, G.P. and Runkle, J.R. 1997. Factors influencing species composition in canopy gaps: The importance of edge proximity in Hueston Woods, Ohio. Professional Geographer 49: 165-178.
Kupfer, J.A. and Runkle, J.R. 1996. Early gap successional pathways in a beech-maple forest preserve: patterns and determinants. Journal of Vegetation Science 7: 247-256.
Kupfer, J.A. 1996. Patterns and determinants of edge vegetation of a Midwestern forest preserve. Physical Geography 17: 62-76.
Kupfer, J.A. 1995. Landscape ecology and biogeography. Progress in Physical Geography 19: 18-34.
Taking soil samples to examine the effects
of storm surge on soil properties near Bay
St. Louis, MS.
Storm surge damage near Pass Christian, MS.
Wind damage at DeSoto National Forest, near Wiggins, MS.
Disturbance Pattern and Process: Hurricane and Fire Effects
Disturbances such as hurricanes and fires alter landscape-scale patterns of forest structure and composition, habitat availability and distribution, susceptibility to subsequent disturbances, and the rate and pattern of energy flows and nutrient cycles. Unusually large disturbances, despite their infrequency, play a disproportionate role in restructuring ecosystem patterns and characteristics, are more likely to result in threshold-exceeding events that indefinitely alter ecosystems, and have a wider range of environmental variation than do smaller disturbances, thereby creating a more diverse mosaic of conditions. They are nonetheless normal, integral parts of long-term system dynamics in many forest ecosystems, which means that management plans need to recognize their effects and include the potential for such events to occur. There continues to be a particular need for research that helps land managers to better understand and predict ecosystem responses to large infrequent disturbances such as intense hurricanes. My research on disturbance ecology tends to integrate field-based vegetation surveys with geospatial techniques, including GIS, remote sensing, ecological modeing and spatial analysis. Recent projects have focused on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on ecosystem structure, function and pattern along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the interactions of fire with landscape pattern and process.
Representative Publications:
Kupfer, J.A. 2010. Ecological Effects of Hurricane Katrina. In: Mississippi Encyclopedia. C.R. Wilson (ed.), University Press of Mississippi, Oxford, MS. In press.
Kupfer, J.A., Glenn, D. and Sackett, J. 2008. Patterns and controls of hurricane-caused forest damage: A landscape-scale analysis of treefall direction following Hurricane Katrina. Professional Geographer 60: 478–494.
Farris, C.A., Margolis, E.Q. and Kupfer, J.A. 2008. Spatial characteristics of fire severity in relation to fire growth in a Rocky Mountain subalpine forest. In: Proceedings of the 2002 Fire Conference: Managing Fire and Fuels in the Remaining Wildlands and Open Spaces of the Southwestern United States. M. Narog (tech. coord.) Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-189, Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Kupfer, J.A., Myers, A.T., McLane, S.E. and Melton, G. 2008. Factors associated with forest damage in a South Mississippi landscape following Hurricane Katrina. Ecosystems 11:45-60.
Kupfer, J.A, M.A. Roberts, S. Walker, J.L. Pinckney, J.E. Moore, J.M. Quattro and S.B. Franklin. 2007. Ecological impacts and coastal ecosystem resiliency following Hurricane Katrina. Southeastern Biology 54: 407-418.
Dead Fraser fir near the summit of Mt.
LeConte, Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, TN.
Vegetation sampling in the high Rincons,
Saguaro National Park, AZ.
Montane Vegetation Pattern and Process
Representative Publications:
Kupfer, J.A., Balmat, J. and Smith, J.L. 2005. Shifts in the potential distribution of sky island plant communities in response to climate change. In: Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago II: Connecting Mountain Islands and Desert Seas. Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Logan, UT.
Kipfmueller, K.F. and Kupfer, J.A. 2005. Complexity of successional pathways in subalpine forests of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, USA. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 95: 495-510.
Allen, T.R. and Kupfer, J.A. 2001. Spectral response and spatial pattern of Fraser fir mortality and regeneration, Great Smoky Mountains. Plant Ecology 156: 59-74.
Allen, T.R. and Kupfer, J.A. 2000. Application of spherical statistics to change vector analysis of Landsat data: Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests. Remote Sensing of Environment 74: 481-492.
Kupfer, J.A. and Cairns, D.M. 1996. The suitability of montane ecotones as indicators of global climatic change. Progress in Physical Geography 20: 253-272.
Scott Franklin, long-time colleague from the Biology Department at the University of Memphis, comments on the right way to take a tree DBH at Congaree National
Park, SC.
Bottomland Forest Dynamics
Forest structure, composition and function in bottomland hardwood forests are shaped by interactions among biotic and abiotic factors. Small changes in elevation and microtopography create a heterogeneous template of flooding frequency and duration, which is manifested in the arrangement of species along a gradient of oxygen availability. Hydrogeomorphic dynamics (e.g., channel meandering, overbank flow and deposition routes) likewise lead to gradients in soil conditions that may influence species composition. Superimposed on species patterns dictated by environmental gradients are the effects of disturbances, both natural (e.g., hurricanes, insect outbreaks) and anthropogenic (e.g., timber extraction, agricultural cultivation), that may alter a range of stand conditions. I’ve had a long-standing interest in floodplain forest dynamics, and since coming to USC, I have initiated several projects at Congaree National Park.
Representative Publications:
Franklin, S.B., Kupfer, J.A., Pezeshki, S.R., Gentry, R. and Smith, R.D. 2009. Complex effects of channelization and levee construction on west Tennessee floodplain forest function. Wetlands 29: 451-464.
Franklin, S.B., Kupfer, J.A., Pezeshki, S.R., Gentry, R. and Smith, R.D. 2009. Efficacy of the hydrogeomorphic model: A case study from western Tennessee. Ecological Indicators 9: 267-283
Franklin, S.B., Kupfer, J.A., Pezeshki, R., Scheff, T., Hanson R., and Gentry, R. 2001. A comparison of hydrology and vegetation between a channelized stream and a non-channelized stream in Western Tennessee. Physical Geography 22:254-274.
Franklin, S.B., Kupfer, J.A., Pezeshki, S.R, van Gestel, N. and Gentry, R.W. 2001. Channelization effects on floodplain functions in western Tennessee. In: River Basin Management. Falconer, R.A. and Blain, W.R. (eds.). WIT Press, Southampton, Boston, pp. 189-201.
Kupfer, J.A. and Malanson, G.P. 1993. Observed and modeled directional change in riparian forest composition at a cutbank edge. Landscape Ecology 8: 185-199.
Malanson, G.P. and Kupfer, J.A. 1993. Simulated fate of leaf litter and large woody debris at a riparian cutbank. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 23: 582-590.
Kupfer, J.A. and Malanson, G.P. 1993. Structure and composition of a riparian forest edge. Physical Geography 14: 154-170.
Effects of Invasive Species on Ecosystem Structure, Function and Pattern
Representative Publications:
Kupfer, J.A. and Miller, J.D. 2005. Wildfire effects and post-fire responses of an invasive mesquite population: the interactive importance of grazing and non-native herbaceous species invasion. Journal of Biogeography 32: 453-466.
Allen, T.R. and Kupfer, J.A. 2001. Spectral response and spatial pattern of Fraser fir mortality and regeneration, Great Smoky Mountains. Plant Ecology 156: 59-74.
Allen, T.R. and Kupfer, J.A. 2000. Application of spherical statistics to change vector analysis of Landsat data: Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests. Remote Sensing of Environment 74: 481-492.
Landscape Pattern Quantification and Analysis
Representative Publications:
Kupfer, J.A. and Farris, C. 2007. Incorporating spatial non-stationarity of regression coefficients into predictive vegetation models. Landscape Ecology 22: 837-852.
Huang, C., Geiger, E. and Kupfer, J.A. 2006. Sensitivity of landscape metrics to classification scheme. International Journal of Remote Sensing 27: 2927-2948.
Kupfer, J.A. 2006. National assessments of forest fragmentation patterns in the U.S. Global Environmental Change – Human and Policy Dimensions 16: 73-82.
Franklin, S.B., Kupfer, J.A., Grubaugh, J.W. and Kennedy, M.L. 2004. A multi-taxa analysis of biotic diversity in Natchez Trace State Forest, western Tennessee. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 93: 31-54.
Kupfer, J.A. and Franklin, S.B. 2000. Evaluation of an ecological land type classification, Natchez Trace State Forest, West Tennessee, USA. Landscape and Urban Planning 49:179-190.
Anderson, S.C., Kupfer, J.A., Wilson, R.R. and Cooper, R.J. 2000. Estimating crown area removed by selection cutting: A linked regression-GIS approach based on stump diameters. Forest Ecology and Management 137: 171-177.
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Maintained by John Kupfer, kupfer@sc.edu Last updated: August 21, 2009