Dexter H Locke | Urban Ecology, Urban Forestry, Geographic Information Systems

About

Research Geographer, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Baltimore Field Station

For complete works, see my curriculum vitae (or CV).

Before joining the Communities and Landscapes of the Urban Northeast Research Unit as a Research Social Scientist (and later as a Research Geographer), I was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), which is part of the University of Maryland. I would describe myself as an Urban Ecologist with a doctorate from the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University. Prior to Clark, I received a Master's of Environmental Science from The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. I also graduated Summa Cum Laude from The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at The University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Planning, with Minors in Economics as well as Forestry.

I worked for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station in the People and Their Environments: Social Science Supporting Natural Resource Management and Policy work unit.

Conducting applied research with urban natural resource managers is my passion. If I'm not doing urban ecology I can usually be found rock climbing and hiking throughout the Mid Atlantic region, listening to classic rock music, and playing disc golf.

For complete works, including peer reviewed publications, reports, self-published material, posters, datasets, and select presentations see my CV.

Headshot photo for promotional materials.

Connect with me via Twitter and LinkedIn, or send a message below.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2704-9720

Research

My research interests are organized into three interrelated themes. The main focus is urban natural resource management and stewardship.

Theme 1: Participation in urban and community forestry programs

The first theme is applied in nature and concerned with participation in urban and community forestry programs. In particular, how can we increase tree canopy on private residential lands in urban areas? Specifically, I am interested in who participates in different programs, why, who does not participate, why not, and the normative “so what can we do about that?” Related to this research theme is the development of tools and applications for urban natural resource managers, including the development of analyses and reports co-produced with key stakeholder organizations. This work is a collaborative effort with the Forest Service (J. Morgan Grove), the Spatial Analysis Lab at the University of Vermont (Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne), and SavATree Consulting Group (Mike Galvin), among others.

Theme 2: Ecological Homogenization of Urban America

The second theme revolves around the ecological homogenization of urban America hypothesis. Are cities – as a type of ecosystem – increasingly similar to each other than their natural reference sites? Homogenization may be understood with respect to ecological outcomes like vegetation species abundance, diversity, and the ratio of native to exotic species. Homogenization can also be examined in terms of different practices or management behaviors in different places used to achieve the same (homogenous) results. Do residents in hot, dry climates water their lawns more than their counterparts in cooler, wetter regions to achieve the same type of so called “industrial lawn”? Results from this research may indicate that cities are increasingly de-coupled from their surroundings with respect to ecosystem structure, function, and change.

Theme 3: Environmental Stewardship Organizations

The third theme is concerned with urban environmental stewardship groups. Working with partners in a growing network of cities, we strive to understand the geographies of stewardship organizations. Stewardship groups have turfs, ‘footprints,’ or territory, and we investigate the gaps and overlaps among those groups’ spatial coverage. Who works on a variety of site types, to manage, monitor, educate, and advocate for the local environment, including land, air, water, toxics, and energy issues? We have shown how groups change land use and land cover in one of North America’s largest cities, NYC. Learn more about the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP).

Publications

This section contains peer reviewed works only. The most current papers are shown first. Papers can be browsed by year. For a complete listing and access to all publications including reports, self-published material, posters, DATASETS, and presentations, please see my CV. To receive the latest research news by email, follow me on Google Scholar and ResearchGate.

Get in touch

I'd love to hear from you. Send a message and I will get back to you when I can! (or kindly let me know if you find any broken links or can't access any materials)