Humfredo Marcano-Vega

Research Biologist
Jardin Botanico SUR, 1201 Ceiba
 San Juan, PR 00926-1119
Phone: 787-764-7265
humfredo.marcano@usda.gov

Current Research

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and Production in the Caribbean - Data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program can be used to gain indispensable information for NTFPS management such as their diversity, abundance, spatial distribution, and change over time. My recent/current research on NTFPs in the Caribbean includes:

· Participation in a task team assigned with the development of a National assessment of non-timber forest products and climate change. My contribution addresses production of NTFPs in the Caribbean and Pacific insular areas of the US.

· Analysis of Caribbean forest stands within a food security and human health framework by focusing in the diversity of medicinal and edible products (fruits) from tree species. Areas of interest include the spatial distribution, realized niche, underlying sources of variation, reproductive attributes, and vulnerability of tree populations.

Forest inventory planning and data analysis within the Caribbean region -

· Applicability of software tools developed by the USDA Forest Service. We have made use of the Design Tool for Inventory and Monitoring (DTIM) and the Explore Sample Data Tool to show how they assist with forest monitoring steps, and exploring and interpreting sample data.

· Addressing the context of Caribbean countries as a coordinated team effort for the adequate conduction of national forest inventories and data analysis within the region. Through a National Forest Inventories Working Group we focus on the skills that will allow for appropriate forest inventory planning and design, data summation and quality, and information presentation.

Research Interests

Caribbean forest composition and structure:

  • Understanding the geographical variation in Caribbean forest tree species composition in the context of climate change, land use dynamics, and novel species combinations.

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) and Production in the Caribbean:

  • Diversity, abundance, spatial distribution, and change over time of medicinal and edible products (fruits) from tree species.

Professional Experience

Research Biologist, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC, USA (duty station: International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan, Puerto Rico).
2012—Current

Multidisciplinary research position in the Resource Analysis Section of the Forest Inventory and Analysis Research Work Unit (FIA). Lead resource analyst for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; responsible for assessing the sustainability of forest management practices, evaluating wildlife habitat, charting the effects of hurricanes and other disturbances, and supporting forest planning and decision making. Development of client-based products by utilizing the FIA database, database management systems, statistical packages, remotely sensed imagery, and geographic information systems; conducting initial evaluation and analysis of forest resource data collected and producing interim statistical reports and other studies that elucidate impacts and resultant forest conditions in a timely manner; serving as a consultant to FIA data users, answering critical resource questions and addressing issues about a wide and diverse range of forest resource subject areas that require judicious use of the data collected in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Interdisciplinary Biological Scientist/ Forester, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC, USA (duty station: International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan, Puerto Rico)
2004—2012

Field cruiser for the Forest Inventory and Analysis Research Work Unit. Collection of multi-resource data for annual inventories with the objective of determining forest health, structure, composition, growth, mortality and ownership in Caribbean ecosystems, and specifically in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Botanist/Forester, Puerto Rico Conservation Foundation
2002—2004

Consultant assisting the USDA Forest Service’s Northern Karst Belt Inventory Intensification and Forest Inventory and Analysis projects in collecting data on the structure and composition of the forests of Puerto Rico. Identification of forest types and dominant tree species in the islands of St. John, St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada as part of a program on land-cover mapping and sustainable forest landscape management in the Caribbean region.

Biological Science Technician, Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico (UPR).
2000—2001

Field data collection for analysis of land-use effects in organic carbon and nitrogen content of soils in Puerto Rico.

Biological Science Technician, University of Puerto Rico (UPR) at Río Piedras
1996—1999

Field data collection for studying the dynamics of forest structure and composition after the abandonment of agricultural lands (pastures, coffee plantations) in Puerto Rico.

Featured Publications and Products

Publications

Research Highlights


Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, string given in /srv/web/www.srs.fs.usda.gov/staff/viewemployee.php on line 521
R&D Affiliations