usgs_staff_profile:
meta: status_code: 200 timestamp: '2023-09-30T17:12:25.797707' url: https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/rachel-a-loehman profile: abstracts: [] affiliations: - Association for Fire Ecology (Board member, 2017-present) - Alaska Fire Science Consortium (Board member, 2016-present) - Society for American Archaeology - USGS Fire Science Communities of Practice - Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) Wildfires Collaboration Team education: - Ph.D. 2006 The University of Montana Ecosystems Ecology - M.A. 1999 University of New Mexico Biogeography - B.A. 1995 University of New Mexico Anthropology email: rloehman@usgs.gov expertise_terms: - wildfire - landscape and fire ecology - coupled natural-human systems - historical ecology - fire behavior - fire effects honors: [] intro_statements: - My research focuses on understanding complex, multi-scale dynamics of natural and coupled human-natural systems, particularly focused on impacts of disturbance (climate changes, wildfires, insect outbreaks, erosion and sedimentation, invasive species) on landscapes, ecological communities, and natural and cultural resources. name: Rachel A Loehman, Ph.D. name_qualifier: null orcid: 0000-0001-7680-1865 organization_link: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/alaska-science-center organization_name: Alaska Science Center personal_statement: Research summaryMy projects integrate field studies, in-situ instrumentation and monitoring, ecosystem and fire models, geospatial and statistical modeling and analysis, and ecological theory to provide new insights into changing climates, disturbance regimes, and landscapes. Applications include development of strategies for restoration of forests and fire regimes, assessments of landscape resilience and vulnerability, reconstruction of long-term human-environment interactions, predictive models of climate-vegetation-disturbance interactions, quantification of fire impacts on above- and belowground cultural and natural resources, and development of new tools and techniques for quantifying and managing shifting environments. I work in coastal, boreal, and tundra ecosystems in Alaska as well as forest and woodland ecosystems in the interior west and southwestern U.S. professional_experience: - 2014 - Present Research Landscape Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska - 2009-2014 Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station Fire Sciences Lab, Missoula, Montana - 2007-2009 Research Scientist, Systems for Environmental Management, Missoula, Montana - 2007-2008 Climate Change Analyst, National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis, The University of Montana - 2006-2007 Post-doctoral Research Scientist, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, The University of Montana - 2004-2006 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, The University of Montana - 2001-2004 NASA Earth Systems Science Fellow, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, The University of Montana - 1997-2000 GIS/Remote Sensing Specialist, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico title: Research Landscape Ecologist