Dr. Sharma's research program is focused on silviculture, restoration, and disturbance ecology of forest ecosystems, designed to inform forest management for multiple benefits.
Most of our current research, however, has focused on applied forest ecology and restoration of southern pine ecosystems and floodplain forests.
Research at the Sharma lab covers a wide variety of topics related to even-aged and uneven-aged silviculture, disturbance ecology, long-term stand dynamics, and restoration of southern pine forests. Some of the primary research questions we address include: “Can southern pines be sustainably managed using uneven-aged silviculture?” “What are the implications of alternative forest management options on carbon sequestration, diversity, and productivity?” “How to restore groundcover diversity and structural complexity in degraded forest ecosystems?” “How do the forests respond to windstorm damages and how quickly can they be restored?” "How do the large-scale hydrological manipulations affect forest ecosystems in floodplains" and “How can we effectively control nuisance species, such as titi, in pine flatwoods for habitat and wetland restoration?”
His research covers a wide variety of topics related to restoration and disturbance ecology of forest ecosystems in India and the US.
Research at the Sharma Lab covers a wide variety of topics related to even-aged and uneven-aged silviculture, long-term stand dynamics, fire ecology, hurricane impacts, and forest restoration.
Sharma is interested in the development of novel silvicultural and restoration approaches for multifunctional management of forest ecosystems, including the management interventions to enhance forest productivity, health, diversity (structural, species, functional) and resilience to disturbances. Sharma works very closely with forest and fire ecologists, remote sensing specialists, social scientists, landscape ecologists, wildlife scientists, and other natural resource researchers and practitioners to address diverse interdisciplinary research needs of forest management.
Expertise: Silviculture, Forest Restoration, Disturbance Ecology (fires, windstorms), Southern Forests
Skills and Expertise
- Forest Ecology
- Silviculture
- Ecological Restoration
- Restoration Ecology
- Forestry Research
- Forest Regeneration
- Agroforestry
- forest biomass
- Forest stand dynamics
- Simulation Modeling
Ajay's research focus is on ecology and silviculture of southern pines.
Research interests: Silviculture, Forest Ecology, Disturbance ecology, Forest Restoration, Floodplain Forests and Hydrology, Southern US Forests
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