Chuan
Liao
Postdoc
University of Michigan
My name is Chuan Liao. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Environmental Spatial Analysis Lab and International Forestry Resources and Institutions in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. My research interest lies at the intersection between resource conservation and community development. My current research focuses on large-scale land transactions and their impact on agroecological system and food/energy/water security in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the outcomes of forest investments in multiple developing countries. Previously I worked with pastoral communities in East Africa and Central Asia to study their migration patterns, risk perception, livelihood diversification, ethnobotanical knowledge, and interaction with external development agencies. My research also investigates vegetation states and transition pathways in the rangeland ecosystem at multiple spatio-temporal scales.