Ecological feedbacks in a changing world: identifying and supporting land use-conservation syngergies

Dr. Seeta Sistla, Professor of Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences, Cal Poly

Sustainability requires hard choices regarding fundamental elements of our world: earth, water, and air. Most of us connected to the Lavra hope to protect our existing natural resources, transition to more earth-friendly energy sources, AND encourage responsible agriculture and grazing but we can’t have it all—or can we? Dr. Sistla is a cutting-edge researcher on the soils we share, from the tropics to the artic circle. With dozens of academic articles, she not only creates the science behind policy discussions but also engages with social scientists to consider the implications of the choices we make as a society. Come hear one of the most interesting voices at Cal Poly.

Dr Sistla received an MA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the Brown University joint program with the Marine Biological Laboratory, PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Santa Barbara (supported by a DOE Global Change Program Fellowship) and completed a NOAA Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. Prior to joining Cal Poly, she was on the faculty at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. Explore her work at her website.