top of page
ecology, land cover, landscape, map, bright green and blue colors.jpg

The Beaury Lab​

Global Change Biogeography at The New York Botanical Garden

​

Global change is rapidly transforming earth's natural and managed systems. Research in the Beaury Lab uses macroecological approaches to understand and document how major drivers of global change - the spread of invasive species, climate change, and land-use change - individually and interactively affect biodiversity. Through the creative use of data and biogeographical analyses, we aim to provide a spatial perspective on some of the world's major environmental crises, working with practitioners to develop proactive and actionable strategies for mitigating the negative outcomes of global environmental change.

Research Themes

ecology, land cover, landscape, map, bright green and blue colors.jpg
Invasion Biogeography

Biological invasions result from the introduction, rapid spread, and negative impacts of introduced species. The invasion process plays out differently across species, time, and space. What are the ecological and anthropogenic factors that contribute to this variation?

Network Diagram
Translational Ecology

The 'knowing-doing gap' characterizes a disconnect between knowledge production and implementation. How can researchers and practitioners work together to produce knowledge and novel invasive species management approaches?

Solar Panels in Mountains
Climate Change & Mitigation

Mitigating climate change will require a high degree of land-use change. How can plant processes and vegetation structures contribute to greenhouse gas emissions reductions and removals? What are the biodiversity outcomes of efforts to mitigate climate change?

Latest Publications

Global suitability and spatial overlap of land-based climate mitigation strategies.

Beaury, E. M.,  Smith, J., &  Levine, J. M. (2024).  Global suitability and spatial overlap of land-based climate mitigation strategies. Global Change Biology,  30, e17515. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17515

​

Land-based mitigation strategies (LBMS) are critical to reducing climate change and will require large areas for their implementation. Yet few studies have considered how and where LBMS either compete for land or could be deployed jointly across the Earth's surface. To assess the opportunity costs of scaling up LBMS, we derived high-resolution estimates of the land suitable for 19 different LBMS, including ecosystem maintenance, ecosystem restoration, carbon-smart agricultural and forestry management, and converting land to novel states. Each 1 km resolution map was derived using the Earth's current geographic and biophysical features without socioeconomic constraints. By overlaying these maps, we estimated 8.56 billion hectares theoretically suitable for LBMS across the Earth. This includes 5.20 Bha where only one of the studied strategies is suitable, typically the strategy that involves maintaining the current ecosystem and the carbon it stores. The other 3.36 Bha is suitable for more than one LBMS, framing the choices society has among which LBMS to implement. The majority of these regions of overlapping LBMS include strategies that conflict with one another, such as the conflict between better management of existing land cover types and restoration-based strategies such as reforestation. At the same time, we identified several agricultural management LBMS that were geographically compatible over large areas, including for example, enhanced chemical weathering and improved plantation rotations. Our analysis presents local stakeholders, communities, and governments with the range of LBMS options, and the opportunity costs associated with scaling up any given LBMS to reduce global climate change.

bottom of page