Dr. Jennifer Balch, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Director of Earth Lab and University Director of North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center

Dr. Balch's research aims to understand the patterns and processes that underlie disturbance and ecosystem recovery, particularly how people are shifting fire regimes and the consequences. There are three ingredients needed for fire: fuel to burn, hot & dry conditions, and an ignition source. Dr. Balch’s research explores how people are changing all three. Her work spans from temperate regions to the tropics exploring how fire encourages non-native grass invasion, alters rainforests, and affects the global climate. Prior to the University of Colorado, she was on the faculty at the Pennsylvania State University. She was a Postdoctoral Associate at the U.S.-based National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, and received her Ph.D. from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She has conducted research in the field of fire ecology for over fifteen years, and has lit a few experimental burns to understand the consequences of altered fire regimes.

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