Dense populations of Blanketflower, Gaillardia aristata, develop for a few years following fires in mixed-conifer forests in the northern Front Range of Colorado. Populations of a rare, endemic flowermoth, Schinia masoni, which is totally dependent on Blanketflower as a larval food source, may be in “indicator species” for the natural condition of these forests, and help forest managers develop strategies for reducing fire risk and maintaining forest biodiversity and ecological processes.
Applied research brings the scientific method and hypothesis-testing to bear on questions that relate to human ecology, the development of sustainable societies, and effective conservation and NRM. With more focus and more time than assessments and analyses, applied research is fundamental to the development of new strategies and paradigms. Understanding forest dynamics, for example, is essential for conserving forest biodiversity and managing forests sustainably.
My work on a Colorado moth that is dependent on a fire-dependent plant, Blanketflower, is an example of this kind of applied research. Applied research on the spiritual values associated with certain forests in the Zambezi Valley of northern Zimbabwe is another example of how research can provide new ideas for conservationists and natural resource managers.
• Colorado Firemoth from Peluso Book
• Ecology of a Fire-Dependent Flower Moth MS
• Firemoth Exhibit at CU Boulder Museum Poster
• Schinia Masoni Life History Paper 1989
• Mhondoro – Spirit Lions and Sacred Forests, 2004
• Zimbabwe Sacred Forests Paper in Human Ecology, 2001
