The purpose of this project is to determine the feasibility of a native plant nursery in Gaviota, at Baron Ranch or elsewhere. A new native plant nursery would increase the supply of native plants regionally and directly supply restoration projects and native landscaping efforts. This nursery will also provide opportunities for community involvement. My recommendations for this potential nursery will be based off of interviews with stakeholders and rightsholders, analysis of hydrologic and financial data, and other avenues of research.

During the Summer of 2022 we investigated the following research questions: (1) What plant communities were present pre-industrial agriculture? (2) What plant communities are present on fallowed/retired lands? (3) What is likely to recover with active vs. passive restoration? (4) How do abiotic factors and disturbance history influence this recovery? These questions are intended to explore the links between plant functional groups, fallowing, revegetation, and disturbance, and allow for the use of remote sensing techniques in the process.

This study aims to quantify and understand changes in agricultural abandonment under a variety of projected climate scenarios, its impacts on connectivity, and how future agricultural demand can be satisfied with these abandoned lands. A manuscript for this project is currently in production. Employer: emLab (Environmental Markets Lab, UCSB) and Conservation International, through a larger project called SPARCLE/SPARC (Spatial Planning for Climate Change: Land Use for Conservation, Agriculture, and Energy). The funding for this particular project comes from the Arnhold Fellowship.