Current Research

I am a Research Ecologist with the Grasslands, Shrublands, and Deserts program of the Rocky Mountain Research Station. My interests include understanding ecosystems under different drivers and integrating ecosystem changes with ecosystem and wildlife management at multiple scales across many extents. Current research involves historical ecosystems of open forests maintained by fire, tree biomass simulations under climate change, and juniper tree encroachment in grasslands and shrublands.

Research Interests

Analysis and management of disturbance effects including fire and fire exclusion, climate change, and land use on terrestrial ecosystems, natural resources, and wildlife at multiple scales, with particular focus on open oak and pine ecosystems. Oak and pine savannas and woodlands are part of a continuum between grasslands and closed forests. The unique bipartite characteristics of grasslands with a tree overstory are not recognized and therefore, undervalued for conservation and management.

Past Research

My past research ranges across many topics, including forests, wildlife, fire, and climate during postgraduate work at University of Missouri and graduate work at Mississippi State University.

Why This Research is Important

Open forests and grasslands have decreased by >98% in the eastern US, while in the Great Plains and western US, open forests and grasslands also have decreased. Birds, pollinators, plants, and other associated species have decreased with habitat loss and fragmentation at landscape scales, and degradation within remnants.

Education

• Mississippi State University, Ph.D. Forest Resources 2007
• Southern Illinois University, M.A. Biological Sciences 2003

Professional Experience

Featured Publications & Products

• Stambaugh, Michael C.; Varner, J. Morgan; Noss, Reed F.; Dey, Daniel C.; Christensen, Norman L.; Baldwin, Robert F.; Guyette, Richard P.; Hanberry, Brice B.; Harper, Craig A.; Lindblom, Sam G.; Waldrop, Thomas A. 2015. Clarifying the role of fire in the deciduous forests of eastern North America: reply to Matlack.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Jones-Farrand, D. Todd; Kabrick, John M. 2014. Historical open forest ecosystems in the Missouri Ozarks: reconstruction and restoration targets.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Kabrick, John M.; He, Hong S. 2014. Densification and state transition across the Missouri Ozarks landscape.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Dey, Dan C.; He, Hong S. 2012. Regime shifts and weakened environmental gradients in open oak and pine ecosystems.

Publications

• Hanberry, Brice B. 2019. Defining the historical northeastern forested boundary of the Great Plains Grasslands in the United States.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Abrams, Marc D. 2019. Does white-tailed deer density affect tree stocking in forests of the eastern United States.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Dey, Daniel C. 2019. Historical range of variability for restoration and management in Wisconsin.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Thompson, Frank R. 2019. Open forest management for early successional birds.
• Hanberry, Brice B. 2019. Recent shifts in shade tolerance and disturbance traits in forests of the eastern United States.
• Hanberry, Brice B. 2019. Trajectory from beech and oak forests to eastern broadleaf forests in Indiana, USA.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Fraser, Jacob S. 2019. Visualizing current and future climate boundaries of the conterminous United States: Implications for forests.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Bragg, Don C.; Hutchinson, Todd F. 2018. A reconceptualization of open oak and pine ecosystems of eastern North America using a forest structure spectrum.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Abrams, Marc D.; White, Joseph D. 2018. Is increased precipitation during the 20th century statistically or ecologically significant in the eastern US.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Brzuszek, Robert F.; Foster, H. Thomas, I.; Schauwecker, Timothy J. 2018. Recalling open old growth forests in the Southeastern Mixed Forest province of the United States.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Abrams, Marc D. 2018. Recognizing loss of open forest ecosystems by tree densification and land use intensification in the Midwestern USA.
• Thompson, Frank R.; Hanberry, Brice ; Shifley, Stephen R.; Davidson, Brian K. 2018. Restoration of pine-oak woodlands in Missouri: Using science to inform land management debates and decisions.
• Hanberry, Brice . 2018. Revisiting historical beech and oak forests in Indiana using a GIS method to recover information from bar charts.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Coursey, Keith; Kush, John S. 2018. Structure and composition of historical longleaf pine ccosystems in Mississippi, USA.
• Jin, Wenchi; He, Hong S.; Thompson, Frank R.; Wang, Wen J.; Fraser, Jacob S.; Shifley, Stephen R.; Hanberry, Brice B.; Dijak, William D. 2017. Future forest aboveground carbon dynamics in the central United States: the importance of forest demographic processes.
• Iverson, Louis R.; Thompson, Frank R.; Matthews, Stephen ; Peters, Matthew ; Prasad, Anantha ; Dijak, William D.; Fraser, Jacob ; Wang, Wen J.; Hanberry, Brice ; He, Hong ; Janowiak, Maria ; Butler, Patricia ; Brandt, Leslie ; Swanston, Christopher . 2017. Multi-model comparison on the effects of climate change on tree species in the eastern U.S.: results from an enhanced niche model and process-based ecosystem and landscape models.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Kabrick, John M.; Dunwiddie, Peter W.; Hartel, Tibor; Jain, Theresa B.; Knapp, Benjamin O. 2017. Restoration of temperate savannas and woodlands Chapter 11.
• Dijak, William D.; Hanberry, Brice B.; Fraser, Jacob S.; He, Hong S.; Wang, Wen J.; Thompson, Frank R. 2017. Revision and application of the LINKAGES model to simulate forest growth in central hardwood landscapes in response to climate change.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; He, Hong S.; Shifley, Stephen R. 2016. Loss of aboveground forest biomass and landscape biomass variability in Missouri, US.
• Wang, Wen J.; He, Hong S.; Thompson, Frank R.; Fraser, Jacob S.; Hanberry, Brice B.; Dijak, William D. 2015. Importance of succession, harvest, and climate change in determining future composition in US Central Hardwood Forests.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Kabrick, John M.; He, Hong S. 2014. Changing tree composition by life history strategy in a grassland-forest landscape.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Dey, Daniel C.; He, Hong S. 2014. The history of widespread decrease in oak dominance exemplified in a grassland--forest landscape.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Yang, Jian; Kabrick, John M.; He, Hong S. 2012. Adjusting forest density estimates for surveyor bias in historical tree surveys.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Kabrick, John M.; He, Hong S.; Palik, Brian J. 2012. Historical trajectories and restoration strategies for the Mississippi River alluvial valley.
• Hanberry, B.B.; He, H.S.; Dey, D.C. 2012. Sample sizes and model comparison metrics for species distribution models.
• Hanberry, Brice B.; Fraver, Shawn; He, Hong S.; Yang, Jian; Dey, Dan C.; Palik, Brian J. 2011. Spatial pattern corrections and sample sizes for forest density estimates of historical tree surveys.