Mandle, Lisa

Mandle, Lisa
Organization(s): 
University of Hawaii at Manoa

 

As a conservation biologist and plant ecologist, I am interested in how land-management strategies impact biodiversity conservation and the provision and distribution of ecosystem services.

My dissertation explores the relationship between human land use and plant diversity in the Western Ghats, India. This research aims to determine the effects of non-timber forest product (NTFP) harvest, anthropogenic fire and grazing by livestock and wild animals on plant populations and communities. I am focusing on the palm species, Phoenix loureiri, which is harvested commercially by indigenous groups in the Western Ghats to make brooms. I am documenting palm harvesting practices and management techniques, modeling palm population dynamics under different management scenarios, comparing levels of biodiversity across land uses and assessing the ecological sustainability of management practices. I am working in collaboration with two Indian NGOs – Keystone Foundation (keystone-foundation.org) and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (atree.org).

Research Interests: 
land management, biodiversity; ecosystem services, trade-offs
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