Welcome to the Merenlender Lab

Our research focuses on quantifying the relationship between land use and biodiversity. We use landscape scale field studies and spatially explicit modeling techniques to address conservation planning and watershed management. Projects fall into four themes: protected area design and connectivity; land use change modeling; private land conservation tools and outcomes; and watershed recovery. The extension of this work on the ground generally results in decision support systems for environmental problem solving.

Our work addresses the environmental effects of land use change in northern California oak woodlands, including urban and exurban development, vineyard expansion, and increasing water demands. We are based at the Hopland Research and Extension Center, where we work closely with their Geographic Information Systems lab for advanced spatial analysis. Adina Merenlender, principal investigator, is affiliated with the Ecosystem Sciences Division of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) and Director of the California Naturalist Program.

North Coast woodlands and vineyards

Land use mapping and modeling

Watershed science

Species response to land use