Research Areas

Conservation Biology, Ecology, Plant Biology, Tropical Biology

Research Interests

Elsa’s research group examines ecosystem ecology at the interface of field measurements, remote sensing, and modeling. We ask questions about forest ecosystem dynamics with an emphasis on exploring patterns of structure and function and the processes that underpin them, as well as interactions between climate change and land use change and forest ecological responses. We also explore dynamics of social-ecological systems with an emphasis on interactions between people and forest communities.

Selected Publications

Vinod N., Slot M.J., McGregor I., Ordway E.M., Smith M.N., Taylor T., Sack L., Anderson-Teixeira K.J. 2022. Thermal sensitivity across vertical profiles: patterns, mechanisms, and ecological implications. New Phytologist Tansley Review. DOI 10.1111/nph.18539

Ordway E.M., Elmore A.J., Kolstoe S., Quinn J.E., Swanwick R., Cattau M., Taillie D., Guinn, S.M., Chadwick K.D., Atkins J.W., Blake R.E., Chapman M., Cobourn K., Goulden T., Helmus M.R., Hondula K., Hritz C., Jensen J., Julian J.P., Kuwayama Y., Lulla V., O’Leary D., Nelson D.R., Ocón J.P., Pau S., Pau S., Ponce-Campos G.E., Portillo-Quintero C., Pricope N.G., Rivero R.G., Schneider L., Steele M., Tulbure M.G., Williamson M.A., Wilson C., (in review). Leveraging the NEON Airborne Observation Platform for interdisciplinary socio-environmental research. Ecosphere.

Ordway E.M., Asner G.P. 2020 Carbon declines along tropical forest edges correspond to heterogeneous effects on canopy structure and function. PNAS. DOI 10.1073/pnas.1914420117

Ordway E.M., Naylor R.L., Nkongho R.N., Lambin E.F. 2019. Oil palm expansion at the expense of forests in Southwest Cameroon associated with proliferation of informal mills. Nature Communications. DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-07915-2
Brando P.M., Paolucci L., Ummenhofer C.C., Ordway E.M., Hartmann H., Cattau M.E., Rattis L., Medjibe V., Coe M.T., Balch J. 2019. Droughts, wildfires, and forest carbon stocks: a pantropical synthesis. Annual Reviews. DOI 10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010235

Ordway E.M., Naylor R.L., Nkongho R.N., Lambin E.F. 2017. Emerging oil palm expansion in Africa: insights into sustainability opportunities and challenges from Cameroon. Global Environmental Change. DOI 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.10.009

Ordway E.M., Asner G.P., Lambin E.F. 2017. Deforestation risk due to commodity crop expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Research Letters. DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/aa6509

Ordway E.M. 2015. Political Shifts and Changing Forests: The Implications of Warfare for Forest Conservation in Rwanda. Global Ecology and Conservation. DOI 10.1016/j.gecco.2015.01.013

Marlier M.E., DeFries R., Pennington D. Nelson E., Ordway E.M., Lewis J., Koplitz S.N., Mickley L.J. 2014. Future fire emissions associated with projected land use change in Sumatra. Global Change Biology. DOI 10.1111/gcb.12691