Dr. Matthew Clark
Assistant Professor
matthew.clark@sonoma.edu
707-664-2558
Areas of Specialization
- Remote Sensing
- Geographic Information Systems
- Biogeography
Educational Background
- Ph.D.—Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005
- M.S.— Ecosystem Analysis and Conservation , University of Washington, Seattle , 1998
- B.A.— Integrative Biology and Environmental Science, University of California, Berkeley, 1993
Courses
- Geog 205: Introduction to Map Reading and Interpretation
- Geog 387: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
- Geog 416: Biogeography and Landscape Ecology
- Geog 487: Advanced Geographic Information Systems
Recent Publications
Helmer, E.H., Kennaway, D., Pederos, D., Tieszen, L., Marcano, H., Schill, S., Ruzycski, T., Carringo, S., and Clark, M. (in press). Distributions of land cover and forest formations for St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Eustatius, Grenada and Barbados from satellite imagery. Caribbean Journal of Science.
Clark, ML., Roberts, D.A., & Weise, D. Estimation of Hawaiian Islands fire fuel parameters from hyperspectral imagery, Pacific Science, in preparation.
Clark, M.L., Roberts, D.A., & Halligan, K.Q. Species-level discrimination of tropical rain forest trees using hyperspectral metrics. Remote Sensing of Environment, in revision.
Clark, M.L., Roberts, D.A., & Clark, D.B. (2005). Hyperspectral discrimination of tropical rain forest tree species at leaf to crown scales. Remote Sensing of Environment, 96(3-4), 375-398.
Clark, M.L., Clark, D.B., & Roberts, D.A. (2004). Small-footprint lidar estimation of sub-canopy elevation and tree height in a tropical rain forest landscape. Remote Sensing of Environment, 91(1), 68-89.
Clark, D.B., Read, J.M., Clark, M.L., Murillo Cruz, A., Fallas Dotti, M., & Clark, D.A. (2004). Application of 1-m and 4-m resolution satellite data to studies of tree demography, stand structure and land-use classification in tropical rain forest landscapes. Ecological Applications, 14(1), 61–74.
Powell, R.L., Matzke, N., de Souza, Jr., C, Clark, M.L., Numata, I., Hess, L.L., & Roberts, D.A. (2004). Sources of error in accuracy assessment of thematic land-cover maps in the Brazilian Amazon. Remote Sensing of Environment, 90, 221-234.
Recent Papers
Clark, M.L. "Relative advantages of airborne lidar and hyperspectral data for individual tropical tree classification", 32nd International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, June 25-29, 2007, San Jose, Costa Rica.
Clark, M.L., Corrales, L., & Peterson, S., “Patrones espaciales y temporales de fuegos en Mesoamérica”, II Congreso Mesoamericano de Áreas Protegidas, April 24-28, 2006, Panama City, Panama.
Clark, M.L., “Una herramienta para la toma de decisiones en el establecimiento de prioridades de conservación en el arrecife mesoamericano”, II Congreso Mesoamericano de Áreas Protegidas, April 24-28, 2006, Panama City, Panama.
Clark, M.L. “Remote sensing data and methods for conservation”, The Nature Conservancy Conservation Training Week, March 13-17, 2006, Kingston, Jamaica.
Clark, M.L., Clark, D.B, & Roberts, D.A. “Remote sensing of tropical rain forest structure with small-footprint lidar”, Ecological Society of America & International Congress of Ecology, 90 th ESA Annual Meeting, August 7-12, 2005, Montreal, Canada.
Peterson, S.H., Goldstein, N.C., Clark, M.L., Halligan, K.Q., Schneider, P., Dennison, P.E., Roberts, D.A. (2005). Sensitivity Analysis of the 2003 Simi Wildfire Event. Proceedings of Geocomputation, Ann Arbor, Michigan, August 1–3, 2005.
Clark, M.L., Clark, D.B, & Roberts, D.A. “Lidar estimation of sub-canopy elevation and tree height in a tropical rain forest landscape”, Guest lecture presentation, University of California, Geography Dept., May 27, 2005, Santa Barbara, CA
Clark, M.L., Roberts, D.A., & Clark, D.B. “Hyperspectral discrimination of tropical rain forest tree species at leaf to crown scales”, American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Annual Conference, March 7-11, 2005, Baltimore, MD
Clark, M.L., Roberts, D.A., Gardner, M. & Weise, D.R. “Estimation of Hawaiian Islands fire fuel parameters from AVIRIS imagery”, 13th Annual JPL Airborne Earth Science Workshop, March 31-April 2, 2004, Pasadena, CA.
Clark, M.L., Clark, D.B., & Roberts, D.A. “Lidar estimation of sub-canopy elevation and tree heights at La Selva”, Visiting researcher colloquium, April, 14, 2004, La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica.
Clark, M.L., Powell, R., Matzke, N., de Souza, Jr., C., Numata, I., Hess, L.L., Roberts, D.A. “Accuracy assessment of remote sensing products using airborne videography: A case study from Rondônia, Brazil”, Invasive Exotic Plants: Approaches for the Florida Landscape, Conference and Workshop, February 12-14, 2003, Miami, FL.
Clark, M.L. Evaluación de sucesión usando sensores remotos comerciales. Guest lecture presentation, Universidad de Tucumán, April 22, 2003, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina.
In My Own Words
I am interested in the conservation of earth's biological diversity in a time of increasing economic activity and global climate change. Investigating and finding solutions to this issue involves aspects of ecology, economics, sociology and politics. It also requires analysis at local to global spatial scales. Geography provides a framework for working at these various scales and across disciplines.
My research uses technological tools to analyze changes in land cover and use due to natural disturbance and human activities. In the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, I used a combination of space sensors and geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis to assess variation in forest structure and species composition in neighboring managed and natural landscapes. Increasingly, my research interests have been drawn to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a region with immense biological richness. In a Costa Rican tropical rain forest, I have experimented with new technology, hyperspectral and lidar sensors, to map forest tree species, habitat diversity and structure.
A new era of economic globalization is broadening and intensifying LAC economic production, helping to increase development and expand the middle class. The changing economy is driving demographic shifts in rural and urban areas and altering the pattern of land use and abandonment. I am interested in using satellite remote sensors and GIS technology to track and model land cover/land use changes across the LAC region to better understand the complex, multi-scale linkages between global and local economies, human activities, and the landscape pattern, function and health of ecosystems. The ultimate goal is to provide guidance to those organizations and stakeholders that seek to sustain biological diversity while maintaining economic development.