Kate Liss
Degrees Received
B.Sc. in Geographical Biogeosciences, 2010
Department of Geography, University of British Columbia
Supervisor: Andreas Christen
Current Position
M.Sc. Candidate (started: 09/2010)
Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University
Supervisor: Elena M. Bennett
My research focuses on the relationship between landscape configuration and ecosystem service provision, as well as on improving the relevance of estimates of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services framework can be a valuable tool for management, but estimates of service provision must reflect the true distribution of ecosystem services on the landscape in order to contribute to improved outcomes for decision-making.
My M.Sc. work involves identifying the role of landscape structure in ecosystem service provision, and assessing how and why current methods of modeling ecosystem services are falling short of their potential. Ecological processes and functions underlying ecosystem services vary based on elements of landscape configuration, such as the shape, arrangement, and connectivity of patches of different landcover types, suggesting that this configuration likely affects ecosystem service provision. Many estimates of ecosystem services, however, are based primarily on the proportion of different landcover types in the area of interest, regardless of their characteristics or spatial distribution. I aim to characterize the relationship between these components of landscape configuration and ecosystem services, and identify what aspects of configuration are most important in the flow and quality of benefits. I will be testing an existing multi-service ecosystem service model against measured data, with the aim of assessing whether incorporating aspects of landscape configuration might improve model performance.
I am motivated by the potential for science to drive and inform optimal management decisions. To that end, my research interests and experience extend to urban climatology and its potential to affect how urban planning decisions impact both ecological processes and the human experience, as well as the carbon cycle, at scales ranging from global carbon flux models to carbon dioxide exchange from a suburban lawn.
Selected Awards
McGill University Schulich Fellowship (2011-2012)
McGill University Provost's Graduate Fellowship (2011-2012)
Julie Payette-NSERC Research Scholarship (2010-2011)
Center for Global Change Science Undergraduate Internship (2010)
Canadian Association of Geographers Undergraduate Prize (2010)
University of British Columbia Wesbrook Scholar (2009)
UBC Geography Alumni Scholarship (2007)
Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Excellence Award (2006, 2007)
Trek Excellence Scholarship (2004-2009)
Publications
Christen A., Coops N.C., Crawford B., Kellett R., Liss K.N., Olchovski I., Tooke R., van der Laan M., Voogt J.A. (2011): Validation of modeled carbon dioxide emissions from an urban neighbourhood with direct eddy covariance measurements. Atmospheric Environments. 45 (33): 6057-6069
Liss K., Crawford B., Jassal R., Siemens C., Christen A. (2009): Soil respiration in suburban lawns and its response to varying management and irrigation regimes. Proceedings of the American Meterological Society Eighth Conference on the Urban Environment, Phoenix, AZ, January 11-15, 2009.
Liss K. (2008): Casting for lessons from the past: Sustainable management for the future of the Peruvian anchoveta. Trail Six: An Undergraduate Journal of Geography. 2: 68-76.
Selected Presentations
Liss K., Bennett E.M., Raudsepp-Hearne C. (2011): Influence of landscape structure on ecosystem service provision. Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science Annual Symposium, Montreal QC, December 8-10, 2011.
Liss K., Bennett E., Raudsepp-Hearne C. (2011). Relative influence of landscape composition and landscape configuration on provision of ecosystem services. McGill School of the Environment Research Symposium, Montreal, QC, April 13-14, 2011.
Liss K., He L. (2010) Quantifying forest structure at multiple scales. Center for Global Change Science Internship Research Forum, Toronto, ON, August 13, 2010.
Liss K., Christen A., Crawford B., Siemens C. (2009): Green cities: Environmental controls on carbon dioxide flux from urban turfgrass. Rising Stars of Research National Undergraduate Science and Engineering Research Poster Competition, Vancouver, BC, August 19-22, 2009.
Contact
katie [dot] liss [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca
Personal Website
kateliss.weebly.com
B.Sc. in Geographical Biogeosciences, 2010
Department of Geography, University of British Columbia
Supervisor: Andreas Christen
Current Position
M.Sc. Candidate (started: 09/2010)
Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University
Supervisor: Elena M. Bennett
My research focuses on the relationship between landscape configuration and ecosystem service provision, as well as on improving the relevance of estimates of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services framework can be a valuable tool for management, but estimates of service provision must reflect the true distribution of ecosystem services on the landscape in order to contribute to improved outcomes for decision-making.
My M.Sc. work involves identifying the role of landscape structure in ecosystem service provision, and assessing how and why current methods of modeling ecosystem services are falling short of their potential. Ecological processes and functions underlying ecosystem services vary based on elements of landscape configuration, such as the shape, arrangement, and connectivity of patches of different landcover types, suggesting that this configuration likely affects ecosystem service provision. Many estimates of ecosystem services, however, are based primarily on the proportion of different landcover types in the area of interest, regardless of their characteristics or spatial distribution. I aim to characterize the relationship between these components of landscape configuration and ecosystem services, and identify what aspects of configuration are most important in the flow and quality of benefits. I will be testing an existing multi-service ecosystem service model against measured data, with the aim of assessing whether incorporating aspects of landscape configuration might improve model performance.
I am motivated by the potential for science to drive and inform optimal management decisions. To that end, my research interests and experience extend to urban climatology and its potential to affect how urban planning decisions impact both ecological processes and the human experience, as well as the carbon cycle, at scales ranging from global carbon flux models to carbon dioxide exchange from a suburban lawn.
Selected Awards
McGill University Schulich Fellowship (2011-2012)
McGill University Provost's Graduate Fellowship (2011-2012)
Julie Payette-NSERC Research Scholarship (2010-2011)
Center for Global Change Science Undergraduate Internship (2010)
Canadian Association of Geographers Undergraduate Prize (2010)
University of British Columbia Wesbrook Scholar (2009)
UBC Geography Alumni Scholarship (2007)
Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Excellence Award (2006, 2007)
Trek Excellence Scholarship (2004-2009)
Publications
Christen A., Coops N.C., Crawford B., Kellett R., Liss K.N., Olchovski I., Tooke R., van der Laan M., Voogt J.A. (2011): Validation of modeled carbon dioxide emissions from an urban neighbourhood with direct eddy covariance measurements. Atmospheric Environments. 45 (33): 6057-6069
Liss K., Crawford B., Jassal R., Siemens C., Christen A. (2009): Soil respiration in suburban lawns and its response to varying management and irrigation regimes. Proceedings of the American Meterological Society Eighth Conference on the Urban Environment, Phoenix, AZ, January 11-15, 2009.
Liss K. (2008): Casting for lessons from the past: Sustainable management for the future of the Peruvian anchoveta. Trail Six: An Undergraduate Journal of Geography. 2: 68-76.
Selected Presentations
Liss K., Bennett E.M., Raudsepp-Hearne C. (2011): Influence of landscape structure on ecosystem service provision. Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science Annual Symposium, Montreal QC, December 8-10, 2011.
Liss K., Bennett E., Raudsepp-Hearne C. (2011). Relative influence of landscape composition and landscape configuration on provision of ecosystem services. McGill School of the Environment Research Symposium, Montreal, QC, April 13-14, 2011.
Liss K., He L. (2010) Quantifying forest structure at multiple scales. Center for Global Change Science Internship Research Forum, Toronto, ON, August 13, 2010.
Liss K., Christen A., Crawford B., Siemens C. (2009): Green cities: Environmental controls on carbon dioxide flux from urban turfgrass. Rising Stars of Research National Undergraduate Science and Engineering Research Poster Competition, Vancouver, BC, August 19-22, 2009.
Contact
katie [dot] liss [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca
Personal Website
kateliss.weebly.com