Elizabeth G. King, Ph.D.

Interests: 

My main research interests revolve around semi-arid ecosystems and traditional pastoralist societies that rely upon them.   My approach to these social-ecological systems began with my doctoral research (Population Biology, UC Davis)  in the field of restoration ecology, where I examined the utility of planting native aloe shrubs into degraded Kenyan rangelands to promote vegetation recovery.   Since then, I have continued to work on community-based rangeland restoration projects in Kenya, as well as studying the spatial and ecohydrological dynamics of land degradation and restoration.  I am also keenly interested in the social and policy sides of land degradation, land tenure.  I believe that integrating biophysical research with investigations into human dimensions of common pool resource management is essential to promoting pastoralist sustainability.   This approach to sustainability science is at the heart of my research and teaching interests.

From 2006-2011, sa a lecturer and associate research scholar with the Water in Africa Project of the Princeton Environmental Institute, I am collaborating with faculty and graduate students on projects ranging from ecohydrology, to landscape-herbivore interactions, to human ecology and resource management.  Our research is largely baesd on communally-owned group ranches in northern Laikipia District, Kenya.  We also work at the nearby Mpala Research Centre.  The region is home to the Laikipia Maasai people, lots of charismatic megafauna, and stunning landscapes. 

In January, 2012, I joined the faculty at the University of Georgia, with joint appointments in the Odum School of Ecology and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.  Here I will be continuing studying sustainability in African dryland social-ecological systems.  Additionally, I will be initiating a new research program on the Georgia coast, where we will investigate how legacies of land use affect ecosystem function and future responses to climate change.  See "Join The Lab" for more information about graduate study opportunities associated with these two research agendas.  

Also at UGA, I am on the Executive Committe of the Center of for Integrative Conservation Research, which offers a PhD. program in Integrative Conservation.  Students may enter the program through Ecology, Forestry & Natural Resources, Anthropology, or Geography.  It's a very exciting, cutting edge program, with unique and powerful training for tomorrow's sustainability practitioners and scholars.

Research:

Ecohydrology of Sansevieria volkensii Proliferation:  Resilience and Regime Shifts in Degraded Kenyan Drylands