University of Arizona
Desert Laboratory
1675 West Anklam Road
Tucson AZ 85745
voice: 520 670-6821 ext. 104
fax: 520 670-6806
bean@email.arizona.edu
I am currently spearheading the Desert Laboratory's effort to facilitate buffelgrass control in Southern Arizona. My work is focused on raising awareness about buffelgrass among the public, policy makers, and land managers, as well as on coordination and implementation of actual on-the-ground control of buffelgrass on Tumamoc Hill and other parts of the Tucson Basin. My research interests are mostly centered on plant population ecology and the ecology of plant invasions. Specifically, I am interested in how seed dispersal and seed banks affect the distribution of species across fragmented landscapes, how climate affects the emergence and persistence of species in harsh environments, how climate and surrounding landscape condition affect recovery rates and successional trends in severely disturbed habitats, and in developing climate-based phenological models of invasives facilitate their management. Some of my current projects include:
B.S. (Plant Science) University of Arizona - 2000
M.S. (Range Management) University of Arizona - 2002
Ph.D. currently enrolled in Natural Resources Studies program at the
University of Arizona
| 2004-Present | Principal Research Specialist, University of Arizona Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. |
| 2000-2004 | Research Assistant, Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona. |
| 2003 | Teaching Assistant, Native Plant Taxonomy Course, School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona. |
| 2000-2001 | Soil Conservation Intern, US Dept of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tucson, Arizona. |
| 1999-2000 | Plant Materials Intern, US Dept of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Materials Center, Tucson, Arizona. |
Buffelgrass 2006:
Pima County Board of Supervisors, Tucson Channel 12 City News, City of
Tucson Ward 6 Environmental Town Hall, Weeds Across Borders Conference
in Hermosillo, Sonora, Desert Horticulture Conference, Gridley Middle
School Science Class, NASA Space Grant Symposium, Phoenix Mountain Preserve
Council, University of Arizona Landscape Ecology Guest Lecture, ADOT
Natural Resources Management Section, Rincon Heights Neighborhood Association,
NAU Fire Ecology Guest Lecture, Marana Town Council, Tucson Dept of Neighborhood
Resources, Millstone Manor Homeowners Association, Tucson Estates Homeowners
Association, Arizona Botanists Annual Meeting, AZ Dept of Ag Noxious
Weed Coordinator, Tucson Basin Managers Planning Group
Buffelgrass 2005:
USGS Wildland Fire Science Workshop, Academy Village Guest Lecture,
Southwest Vegetation Management Association Annual Meeting, Saguaro Cliffs
Homeowners Association, Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association, Rincon
Heights Neighborhood Association, Mitman Neighborhood Association, City
of Tucson Habitat Conservation Plan Technical Advisory Committee, Univ.
Arizona College of Law Breakfast Club, University of Arizona Conservation
Biology Guest Lecture, Catalina Foothills HS Honors Science Class
Tucson Parks and Recreation, Shadow Roc Homeowners Association, Sustainability
Under Uncertainty in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems Workshop, Dept of Interior
US/Mexico Border Field Coordination Committee, Pima County Fire Chiefs
Association, "A" Mountain Neighborhood Association, Panorama Estates
Neighborhood Association, Tucson Landscape Advisory Committee, Menlo
Park Neighborhood Association, Governor Napolitano's Office
Pima Association of Governments, Arizona Native Plant Society, University
of Arizona School of Natural Resources Special Seminar, Sonoran Desert
Conservation Plan Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
Ecological Society of America 2004: Trends in natural vegetation recovery on abandoned agricultural lands in Southern Arizona
Society for Ecological Restoration 2003: Long-term vegetation recovery of retired cropland in Southern Arizona
Arizona Nevada Academy of Science 2002: Techniques for the establishment of native vegetation on abandoned agricultural land
Bowers, JE, TM Bean, and RM Turner. 2006. Two decades of change in the distribution of exotic plants at the Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. Madroño 53:254-265.
Bean TM, SE Smith, and MM Karpiscak. 2004. Intensive revegetation in Arizona's hot desert: the advantages of container stock. Native Plants Journal 5:173-180.
Bean TM, MM Karpiscak, and SE Smith. 2003. A prescription for restoring native vegetation on former agricultural land (Arizona). Ecological Restoration 21:214-215.
Bean, TM, and JL Betancourt. Buffelgrass management in Southern Arizona, USA. In Weeds Across Borders 2006, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Bean, TM, and MM Karpiscak. Long-term patterns in natural vegetation recovery on abandoned agricultural lands in Southern Arizona.
Bean, TM, and MM Karpiscak. Transplant survival, cover and density 5 years after restoration treatments on abandoned agricultural fields in Southern Arizona.
Bean, TM, JE Bowers, TE Esque, and C Schwalbe. Differences in seedbank density and species richness between buffelgrass-infested and uninfested areas.
| 2005-2007 | Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation. "Invasive Plant Management, Education and Eradication Coordination Project." ($100,000). |
| 2004-2006 | Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. "Buffelgrass eradication and outreach at the Desert Laboratory." ($110,000). |
| 2006-2009 | U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service Program of Research on the Economics of Invasive Species Management (Co-investigator w/G. Frisvold, B. Orr, A. Olsson, S. Marsh, and J.L. Betancourt). "A decision model for controlling buffelgrass invasion in an urban-wildland interface combining dynamic programming with the analytical hierarchy process." ($175,000). |
| 2005-2010 | U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. "Buffelgrass eradication on Tumamoc Hill." ($58,725). |
| 2006-2007 | City of Tucson Habitat Conservation Plan. "Mapping of buffelgrass on City of Tucson property in Avra Valley" ($911). |
| 2006-2010 | City of Tucson Habitat Conservation Plan. "Native and buffelgrass seedbank characteristics following chemical control of buffelgrass on City of Tucson property in Avra Valley" ($15,100). |
SW Vegetation Management Association
Chair, Pima-Santa Cruz Basin Cooperative Weed Management Area (2005-2007)
Desert Horticulture Conference 2006 - Invasive Ornamental Species Advisory Committee
Tucson Basin Planning and Management Group, Member
Ecological Society of America
Society for Ecological Restoration
Society for Range Management
Arizona Native Plant Society
Arizona Certified Pesticide Applicator PUP0200
SW Vegetation Management Association Weed Manager of the Year (2006)