Repeat photos from the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico in 1994, 2011, and 2021, illustrating ecological transformations in a former Piñon-Juniper woodland in response to warmer drought, insect outbreaks, and severe fire.
Ellis Q Margolis, PhD
Ellis Margolis is a research ecologist with the Fort Collins Science Center, stationed at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station. His research focuses on land use and drought effects on fire regimes and forests in the southwestern U.S.
Research Highlights
Research Highlights
- New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Fire Research
- New Mexico Tree-Ring Science
- New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Forest Ecosystem Research
- Synthesis of the new North American tree-ring fire-scar network
- Publication: The North American tree-ring fire-scar network
- Publication: Pre-fire assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards in the Santa …
Learn more about the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
Learn more about the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
Ellis Margolis is a research ecologist at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, a Fort Collins Science Center facility in New Mexico. Ellis received a Ph.D. in Watershed Management from the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, Arizona. Since joining the USGS in 2015, he has continued his research on the interactions between fire, forests, and drought, and specializes in dendrochronology (the study of tree ring dating). Presently, his research focuses on land use and drought effects on fire regimes and forests in the southwestern U.S. to guide fire regime and forest restoration for watershed management.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 18
Fort Collins Science Center Labs and Facilities
The Fort Collins Science Center has scientists working in several diverse locations as well as three in house highly specialized laboratories, studying subjects from molecular ecology to brown treesnakes, dendroecology to streamflows, and macroinvertebrate species to Burmese pythons. Our extraordinary scientists work in each of these locations advancing studies in their particular areas of study...
Impacts of changing climate and disturbance regimes on forest ecosystem resilience in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Climate-driven forest disturbances, particularly drought-induced tree mortality and large high-severity fires from increasingly warm and dry conditions, are altering forest ecosystems and the ecosystem services society depends on (e.g., water supplies) in the Southern Rockies and across the Western U.S. We will combine unique, long-term place-based ecological data, diverse methods (e.g., paleo...
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Internship Program
Each year, the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station hires interns through Stewards Individual Placement Program in partnership with the National Park Service. Interns participate in a variety of ecological research and long-term monitoring in Bandelier National Monument and surrounding landscapes in northern New Mexico.
New Mexico Tree-Ring Science
Tree-ring science is a component of our interdisciplinary ecological research program that focuses on the effects of drought and human land use on forest ecology, fire ecology, and ecohydrology.
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station is a place-based, globally connected, ecological research group that studies ecosystem and wildlife dynamics, working with land managers, community leaders, and Tribes to deliver solutions that foster the linked health of human and natural systems. For over three decades, we have focused on shifting research needs from forest watershed health to wildlife...
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Forest Ecosystem Research
Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to forest ecosystems at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Fire Research
Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to fire at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: People
Staff associated with the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.
Synthesis and Forecasts of Piñon-Juniper Woodland Die-off
Drought, hotter temperatures, and insect outbreaks are affecting dryland ecosystems across the globe. Pinon-juniper (PJ) woodlands are a widespread vegetation type common to drylands of North America, which have been hit particularly hard by a warming climate. Specifically, mass tree die-off events are transforming PJ woodland structure, composition, and distributions. This project aims to...
Long-term, Place-based, Science and Ecological Monitoring
For over 30 years we have monitored the ecosystem dynamics of the mesas and mountains of northern New Mexico, co-located with mangers. We use a place-based science approach, defined as “science that is founded on long-term, repeated, field data and observations, as well as traditional knowledges, and regularly engages local managers and community members.” This approach enables us to provide land...
Synthesis of the new North American tree-ring fire-scar network: using past and present fire-climate relationships to improve projections of future wildfire
Increasing wildfire activity in much of North America is having severe impacts on society and ecosystems. Climate change is a key driver of changing fire regimes across North America, with varying expressions across the continent. Modern fire records, while useful, are too short to fully characterize the complex patterns and non-linear dynamics of fire-climate relationships that are...
Next Generation Fire Modeling to Inform the Management of Climate and Fire Driven Ecological Transformations in the Rio Grande Basin
The warming climate combined with a century of fuel build up (i.e. burnable plant materials found in the forest) due to fire suppression are driving megafires that threaten life and property and are severely altering ecosystems. Many of these fires are converting large areas of forest to shrub fields or grasslands, termed “ecological transformations.” Although uncharacteristically severe...
Repeat photos of a burned pinyon-juniper woodland in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico
Repeat photos from the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico in 1994, 2011, and 2021, illustrating ecological transformations in a former Piñon-Juniper woodland in response to warmer drought, insect outbreaks, and severe fire.
Tree rings dating to the mid-1500s from a ponderosa pine log
Tree rings dating to the mid-1500s from a ponderosa pine log collected near Taos, NM.
Tree rings dating to the mid-1500s from a ponderosa pine log collected near Taos, NM.
An old limber pine log from the Rio Hondo drainage near Taos Valley
An old limber pine log from the Rio Hondo drainage near Taos Ski Valley, with six fire scars – five of which pre-date 1500 CE.
An old limber pine log from the Rio Hondo drainage near Taos Ski Valley, with six fire scars – five of which pre-date 1500 CE.
Old-growth ponderosa pine in the Monument Canyon Research Natural Area
Old-growth ponderosa pine in the Monument Canyon Research Natural Area, New Mexico.
Old-growth ponderosa pine in the Monument Canyon Research Natural Area, New Mexico.
A managed fire burning in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.
A managed fire burning in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.
A managed fire burning in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 18
Fort Collins Science Center Labs and Facilities
The Fort Collins Science Center has scientists working in several diverse locations as well as three in house highly specialized laboratories, studying subjects from molecular ecology to brown treesnakes, dendroecology to streamflows, and macroinvertebrate species to Burmese pythons. Our extraordinary scientists work in each of these locations advancing studies in their particular areas of study...
Impacts of changing climate and disturbance regimes on forest ecosystem resilience in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Climate-driven forest disturbances, particularly drought-induced tree mortality and large high-severity fires from increasingly warm and dry conditions, are altering forest ecosystems and the ecosystem services society depends on (e.g., water supplies) in the Southern Rockies and across the Western U.S. We will combine unique, long-term place-based ecological data, diverse methods (e.g., paleo...
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Internship Program
Each year, the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station hires interns through Stewards Individual Placement Program in partnership with the National Park Service. Interns participate in a variety of ecological research and long-term monitoring in Bandelier National Monument and surrounding landscapes in northern New Mexico.
New Mexico Tree-Ring Science
Tree-ring science is a component of our interdisciplinary ecological research program that focuses on the effects of drought and human land use on forest ecology, fire ecology, and ecohydrology.
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station is a place-based, globally connected, ecological research group that studies ecosystem and wildlife dynamics, working with land managers, community leaders, and Tribes to deliver solutions that foster the linked health of human and natural systems. For over three decades, we have focused on shifting research needs from forest watershed health to wildlife...
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Forest Ecosystem Research
Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to forest ecosystems at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: Fire Research
Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to fire at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.
New Mexico Landscapes Field Station: People
Staff associated with the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.
Synthesis and Forecasts of Piñon-Juniper Woodland Die-off
Drought, hotter temperatures, and insect outbreaks are affecting dryland ecosystems across the globe. Pinon-juniper (PJ) woodlands are a widespread vegetation type common to drylands of North America, which have been hit particularly hard by a warming climate. Specifically, mass tree die-off events are transforming PJ woodland structure, composition, and distributions. This project aims to...
Long-term, Place-based, Science and Ecological Monitoring
For over 30 years we have monitored the ecosystem dynamics of the mesas and mountains of northern New Mexico, co-located with mangers. We use a place-based science approach, defined as “science that is founded on long-term, repeated, field data and observations, as well as traditional knowledges, and regularly engages local managers and community members.” This approach enables us to provide land...
Synthesis of the new North American tree-ring fire-scar network: using past and present fire-climate relationships to improve projections of future wildfire
Increasing wildfire activity in much of North America is having severe impacts on society and ecosystems. Climate change is a key driver of changing fire regimes across North America, with varying expressions across the continent. Modern fire records, while useful, are too short to fully characterize the complex patterns and non-linear dynamics of fire-climate relationships that are...
Next Generation Fire Modeling to Inform the Management of Climate and Fire Driven Ecological Transformations in the Rio Grande Basin
The warming climate combined with a century of fuel build up (i.e. burnable plant materials found in the forest) due to fire suppression are driving megafires that threaten life and property and are severely altering ecosystems. Many of these fires are converting large areas of forest to shrub fields or grasslands, termed “ecological transformations.” Although uncharacteristically severe...
Repeat photos of a burned pinyon-juniper woodland in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico
Repeat photos from the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico in 1994, 2011, and 2021, illustrating ecological transformations in a former Piñon-Juniper woodland in response to warmer drought, insect outbreaks, and severe fire.
Repeat photos from the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico in 1994, 2011, and 2021, illustrating ecological transformations in a former Piñon-Juniper woodland in response to warmer drought, insect outbreaks, and severe fire.
Tree rings dating to the mid-1500s from a ponderosa pine log
Tree rings dating to the mid-1500s from a ponderosa pine log collected near Taos, NM.
Tree rings dating to the mid-1500s from a ponderosa pine log collected near Taos, NM.
An old limber pine log from the Rio Hondo drainage near Taos Valley
An old limber pine log from the Rio Hondo drainage near Taos Ski Valley, with six fire scars – five of which pre-date 1500 CE.
An old limber pine log from the Rio Hondo drainage near Taos Ski Valley, with six fire scars – five of which pre-date 1500 CE.
Old-growth ponderosa pine in the Monument Canyon Research Natural Area
Old-growth ponderosa pine in the Monument Canyon Research Natural Area, New Mexico.
Old-growth ponderosa pine in the Monument Canyon Research Natural Area, New Mexico.
A managed fire burning in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.
A managed fire burning in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.
A managed fire burning in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.