Modeling Earth's Ecosystems

Understanding carbon, biodiversity, and climate interactions

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About Us

The Global Ecology Lab conducts research on the structure, function and dynamics of ecological systems, and their interactions in the Earth system. Our primary approach is to combine data and mathematics to develop models for quantifying patterns and predicting future dynamics. Current research is focused on the development and application of models to address issues such as: terrestrial carbon balance, the sustainability of land-use practices, the effects of disturbances on ecosystem structure and function, and interactions between the biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Research Areas

Ecosystem Dynamics
Carbon Monitoring Systems
Land Cover & Use Change
Biodiversity & Conservation
Climate Change

Featured Research

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Events Fall 2026
Fall 2026

George Hurtt Particpates in Webinar on High-Resolution Forest Carbon Monitoring for State and Local Governments

Hosted by ICLEI USA and the University of Maryland on Oct. 23, the webinar features Professor George Hurtt along with experts from the Woodwell Climate Research Center, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Awards Fall 2026
Fall 2026

Professor George Hurtt Honored for High School Outreach

The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) awarded Professor George Hurtt of the Department of Geographical Sciences (GEOG) the Outstanding Support for Geography Education Award during the NCGE Annual Conference on Oct. 16 in Richmond, Virginia. The award honors individuals who work outside of the formal classroom and make outstanding contributions to geography education.

Publications Fall 2026
Fall 2026

Episodic changes in global forest edges in the 21st century

George Hurtt is a coauthor on a paper titled "Episodic changes in global forest edges in the 21st century", published in Nature Communications!

Awards Fall 2026
Fall 2026

George Hurtt named a 2026 Scilit Top Cited Scholar

George Hurtt has been honored as one of the 2026 Scilit Top Cited Scholars, ranking among the world’s outstanding researchers with remarkable publication and citation influence.

People Fall 2026
Fall 2026

Welcome new students!

Welcome new PhD students Eni Awowale and Sarah Liu to GEL!

Publications Summer 2026
Summer 2026

Knowledge-Guided Learning for Global Carbon Flux Prediction: Integrating High-Level Remote Sensing with Bottom-Up Physical Modeling

Shuo Xu is the first author on a paper titled "Knowledge-Guided Learning for Global Carbon Flux Prediction: Integrating High-Level Remote Sensing with Bottom-Up Physical Modeling", that will be presented in at the KDD Conference in South Korea on August 10th. Zhihao Wang, Yiqun Xie, Ruohan Li, Lei Ma and George Hurtt are coauthors.