Three University of Colorado at Boulder graduates have accepted Fulbright foreign scholarships, including one who is headed for Chile to conduct research on the plight of the endangered alerce tree, often called the "redwood of South America."
Jason Sibold, who was awarded his doctorate in geography at CU-Boulder's May commencement, said alerce trees in South America are similar to giant sequoias in California and can live for more than 4,000 years. Less than 15 percent of the world's original alerce forests remain on Earth, lost to illegal logging, fires and habitat destruction, said Sibold, who is now residing in Durango, Colo.
"This is an important species overall for ecosystems, but it has been relatively little studied," said Sibold, who wrote his doctoral thesis on the dynamics of sub-alpine forests in Rocky Mountain National Park. "Alerce trees have been heavily logged and their habitat is threatened by road construction, urban development and the conversion of native forests to plantations of non-native species such as pine."
Sibold, who conducted his undergraduate, master's and doctoral work under CU-Boulder geography Professor Thomas Veblen, will conduct research in the Andes Mountains of south-central Chile, collaborating with the University of Austral in Valdivia, Chile. The Nature Conservancy recently purchased 150,000 acres of environmentally critical temperate rainforest habitat in Chile's Coastal Range adjacent and parallel to the Andes, which includes large blocks of alerce forests, he said.
One of only five temperate rainforests on Earth, the rainforest where Sibold will be working is similar to rainforests in the Pacific Northwest, he said. It is home to a wealth of life, including one of the world's largest woodpecker species, the world's smallest deer species, a rare tree-dwelling marsupial species and several endangered tree species, including the alerce tree. "Every square inch of the rainforest is alive," he said.
Sibold will focus on the role natural disturbances such as fires and landslides play in the health of alerce forests, including the effects of forest fires. "I am interested in aspects of natural disturbances in the rainforest ecosystem and how human land use and management have altered these regimes," he said. "This is a very important species for the overall health of the ecosystem."
Two years ago at CU-Boulder, Sibold took part of his research experience -- using tree rings to help reconstruct the fire history of Rocky Mountain National Park -- into the Leadership Education for Advancement and Promotion program, or LEAP. Funded by the National Science Foundation with matching CU funds, the program at CU-Boulder is designed to improve retention of faculty and students, primarily women, in science and engineering.
Sibold mentored three undergraduate women for six months on a research project in the national park involving the impact of fire on native trees. He helped the students to conduct field and laboratory research, as well as to produce scientific papers on their findings, present their results, and to write research proposals.
"Undergraduates are very capable of advanced thinking and research if they are provided with the right kinds of guidance and support," Sibold said.
So what does the future hold for Sibold? "I've spent nine years doing research at CU beginning as an undergraduate, and it was a terrific experience," Sibold said. "But I'm ready to venture out on my own and start my career. I want to take what I have learned and contribute to ecosystem management and conservation, wherever it takes me."
Other CU-Boulder students who have accepted Fulbright foreign scholarships in 2005 include Sara Balder of international education, who will be traveling to the
Dominican Republic, and Lindsey Mitzen of the Germanic and Slavic languages and literatures department, who will be going to Germany. Each Fulbright winner who accepts a scholarship receives travel expenses, health insurance and a monthly living stipend that varies by country.
Colleen Scanlan Lyons of anthropology, who was offered a Fulbright foreign scholarship in 2005, has instead decided to accept a Fulbright-Hays scholarship to support her research in Brazil. Alicia Davis of anthropology also has been awarded a Fulbright-Hays scholarship to research in Tanzania. Graduating senior Bryn Weaver, who was offered a Fulbright foreign scholarship, chose instead to accept the Benjamin Brown Scholarship and will be conducting research in Sri Lanka.