In many environments exhibiting rapid geomorphic change, landscapes evolve by a combination of physical, biological, and anthropogenic forces. In my research, I aim to better understand how these coupled processes influence the formation and survival of large scale landscapes, and how they respond to climate change. The couplings are particularly strong in tidal marshes, where I concentrate most of my research. Physical factors such as the amount of tidal inundation influence the growth of vegetation. Vegetation, in turn, slows the flow of water, resists erosion, traps mineral sediment, and provides a source of organic matter for bed accretion- thereby influencing the physical factors themselves by building bed elevations relative to sea level. Humans impact both the physical components (sea level, sediment delivery rates) and biological components (vegetation growth under climate change) of the system. Of course, these ecomorphodynamic couplings apply to landscapes beyond marshes. Weathering rates, soil development, and sediment transport on the densely vegetated hillslopes of the Southern Appalachians, for example, may be dominated by biotic processes, at least during interglacial periods. While at the University of Virginia, I am working towards using biologically based forest-gap models to model sediment transport by tree throw.

Department of Environmental Science
University of Virginia
PO Box 400123
Charlottesville, VA 22904

434-924-3186
Email: mlk4n@virginia.edu