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An Armory of Powers - Dr. Ricardo D. Lopez
Available Spotlights
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(August, 2005)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his 1870 paean1 to farmers, wrote:
"To these men
The landscape is an armory of powers,
Which, one by one, they know how to draw and use."
Today, we might say that humankind-and, not just farmers-may have learnt too well how to "draw and use" landscapes. This Spotlight article looks at landscapes as complexes of ecological systems that exist in geographically defined areas. They are the ecological armamentaria of the powerful biological, chemical and physical properties and processes that interact to form the biogeosphere. Landscapes are important in that their composition and pattern (that is, how they are distributed and how they can be fragmented) affect critical ecological transfer processes that govern the movement-or flow-of energy, nutrients, water, and organisms (including humans) over time and space.
Landscapes within the United States-and worldwide-have undergone and are continuing to experience substantial alterations to their structure and functioning. These changes affect the value of the services that ecological systems within these landscapes can offer to the biogeosphere and to humankind. For example, such inherent ecosystem services as biodiversity, ability to mollify the consequences of flood; or the maintenance of air and water quality of an area can be compromised. The list of values is endless; and they are easily at risk in light of how we "draw and use" the landscapes that support them.
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) uses a landscape approach to assess the structures and functions of ecosystems within regions of the United States. To do this, it uses a combination of in situ and remote sensing data, and landscape ecology information to assess the potential for a wide array of disturbance. Such work is designed to improve understanding of the condition of, and changes in, ecological systems; in particular, to help to inform environmental and human health decisionmaking for a range of management actions.
The hub of ORD research on landscapes is the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL). Dr. Ricardo D. Lopez, of the NERL's Landscape Ecology Branch within the Environmental Sciences Division in Las Vegas, is being recognized increasingly as a leader in this multifaceted field of research. He received his undergraduate degree in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California at San Diego. His Masters and his Doctorate -both from The Ohio State University-are in Environmental Science. Right after receiving his Doctorate, he applied for and was accepted into EPA's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.
Dr. Lopez' first experiment as a pre-schooler, not sanctioned by his mother, involved wondering if when planted, popcorn kernels would grow; and if any grew whether they would be different than the corn that grew nearby. As a determined junior scientist, he snuck out to the family garden and planted some popcorn kernels. They grew, and he was, of course, forgiven by his mother. As a youngster his first passion was building and flying model airplanes. At ten years old, he would be the first family member awake, up and running on a weekend morning-trying to complete the latest model as though he had a critical, official deadline to meet. He is convinced that this hobby taught discipline for following directions, how to overcome frustration, how to complete a project start-to-finish, and how to enjoy the fruits once a project is completed.
Although he had always been interested in biology, Dr. Lopez looks back to his time in Junior High School in Goleta, California, as a turning point in his becoming-in his own words-". . .an extremely motivated scientist." He describes himself then as an avid beach-comer who thoroughly enjoyed exploring tide-pools. Not surprisingly, as a teenager he had his mind set on becoming a Marine Biologist. This focus on marine research was kindled and nurtured by his father, Ricardo Carlos Lopez. The elder Lopez, who was a photographer at the University of California in Santa Barbara, often took his son with him on assignments to document research within the science departments on campus. He thinks that the best piece of advice he ever received came from his father: "If you do what you enjoy, then on your worst day you will, at least, have what you love to get you through the day; and on your best day you will not be able to believe that you are being paid to do it!" Dr. Lopez attributes his keen motivation toward a career of science and discovery to his evolving understanding that many of the world's security and social tragedies can be traced back to humankind's ability to have and to use clean, safe, and reliable natural resources. He believes that study of the environment from the dispassionate perspective of science is necessary to resolve what are likely to always be complex and emotional issues. When asked where and when he would have most liked to have lived or worked, Lopez answered, "During FDR's New Deal." He sees it as a time fraught with change and uncertainty as well as progressiveness-he would have liked to been involved in the era's transformations.
An interesting question Dr. Lopez gets often when people learn that both of his parents are artists is whether he feels his science-based work involves a creative process. He says he has believed and understood always that there is a tremendous amount of science in art and vice versa. He goes on to say he believes that, ". . .much of the science I convey to my audiences has been largely attributable to the 'poetry of the argument' (something he says he must work very hard to achieve-although, he enjoys writing) and has been enhanced by the 'appeal of the image' (something he says comes a bit easier)." Science-conceived, conducted and communicated creatively-is a way for humans to unify understanding of complicated subjects. He says, "If you cannot 'see' nor 'comprehend' it, you cannot 'fathom', 'decipher' nor 'understand' the components of the system. So, yes, art is a key player in science."
Learning of the Environmental Protection Agency's Postdoctoral Fellows Program brought Dr. Lopez to NERL in 1999. Before that he worked with the State of Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency. In the Postdoctoral Program he found a great set of opportunities that depended significantly upon the positive engagement of his mentor. This included being given the freedom to develop a sense of independence as well as hefty doses of scientific, procedural and policy guidance. Another valuable source of information was the feedback he received from his fellows in the Program. He says ORD's deep commitment to applied as well as fundamental scientific research, and the thoughtful and smart individuals that he has the opportunity to work with every day within EPA, keeps him working at an EPA National Laboratory.
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or, The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life has exercised a substantial influence on Dr. Lopez. Also, over the past 15 years his scientific career has been illuminated by the philosophies and works of Eugene Odum, Garrett Hardin, Edward Wilson, and Edward Abbey. When not thinking science or doing research, he admits to ". . . having a thing for restoring, building and tinkering with homes. Along with his wife he restored a circa 1883 brick and stone Victorian in Ohio. More recently they have concentrated on completing a new home in Nevada. Lopez hints that doing all of the tile and flooring, doors, and xeriscaping is a constructive distraction from his 'other life' as a scientist. Also, he says traveling with his wife has been a source of escape and recreation-of body, mind, and soul. One fantastic trip for them took them meandering through the streets and souks of Cairo-meeting new people and learning new things outside of their "comfort zone".
Dr. Lopez sees the Internet as a blessing to a scientist's life because it converts any travel distance to zero: bringing people (and sometimes their environs) all into the same room. His job gives him is greatest satisfaction when he gets a challenging question from an attentive audience member; and they come up to continue the interaction. When facing the necessary chores that attend the publication of his research findings, Lopez says, "I am encouraged by the idea of a curious student discovering my work in the stacks of some corner of a library in the year 2105-and using it for practical research ends."
When asked about the most ironic comment received from a referee, he relates a compelling story. He remembers the reviewer writing, "I really don't see how this is useful information, nor how such habitat vulnerability assessments in the White River Wildlife Refuge [in Arkansas] are necessary," (referring to a submitted paper that assessed the relative ecological suitability and vulnerability of bird habitat in eastern Arkansas). Sometime later, while listening to National Public Radio on April 29, 2005, Lopez heard,
"A group of wildlife scientists believe the ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct. They say they have made seven
firm sightings of the bird in central Arkansas. The landmark find caps a search that began more than 60 years ago, after biologists said North
America's largest woodpecker had become extinct in the United States. The large, showy bird is an American legend-it disappeared when the big
bottomland forests of North America were logged-and relentless searches have produced only false alarms. Now, in an intensive year-long search
in the Cache River and White River National Wildlife Refuges involving more than 50 experts and field biologists working together as part of the
Big Woods Partnership, an ivory-billed male has been captured on video."
Lopez notes that his "White River" work has been published and distributed throughout the world. Currently, with some colleagues he is working its findings into a book chapter for publication in 2006. Now, he sees his research at a critical point, where he and his colleagues are closing in on specific indicators of wetland conditions throughout the entire Great Lakes Basin. This holds promise that ongoing monitoring and restoration activities within the area can continue in a cost efficient manner. Similar projects in the Ozarks, and the Texas coastal regions of the U.S., are going beyond traditional monitoring-to discover some of the ecological relationships that will provide resource managers with practical tools for monitoring routinely and effectively the progress of their efforts on the ground.
After being involved in Landscape Ecology for seventeen years and with Remote Sensing for about eleven, the fact that ecological disciplines are, as yet, very young; and that there are new technologies coming on board every day to support them keeps Dr. Lopez engaged. He feels that, ". . .no matter what the topic is, there is always some new discovery to be made-and plenty of room for science's new-comers." He believes that the study of Landscapes is an important agenda item that should be on our radar screens. Coming to U.S. EPA, Lopez believes he has opportunity to access data with the potential to provide transformational results at continental and global scales of geospatial resolution. He notes that, "Unfortunately, the inherent tradeoff of working at such broad scales is that there is a greater chance of introducing error into the results, and this is where I focus my efforts. That is, finding ways to inform rather than misinform.
He thinks that we have arrived at a critical decision point: one where we have the capabilities to address the health, safety, and natural resource issues on this planet, as well as the means to implement those capabilities. Dr Lopez points out, ". . .that broad Landscape scale research has the potential for addressing many of the larger issues that have brought us to this important decision point, primarily because it offers a new way to efficiently offer information that heretofore has been diffuse and difficult to summarize for use on a broader scale than we currently make decisions."
When we expand Exposure Research to involve Landscapes-along with the various modes of monitoring-Lopez is convinced we need to modify the ways we approach the issues of identifying ecosystem vulnerabilities. He sees Landscape-focused approaches as a way to begin the process of identifying stressors, the priorities for desired outcomes and the vulnerabilities attendant to them. For the kinds of things the Agency expects to accomplish in safeguarding the environment, he says, "I think that such conceptual approaches are quite applicable now, and that in the future they will make identifying risk in a host of environmental settings more comprehensive." Despite this promise he sees an important gap between broad Landscape-scale work and the functional ecological processes that work seeks to describe. In his own work, he expects to focus on narrowing this gap-by way of his multidisciplinary background, training, and research.
The one thing about science that Ricardo Lopez wishes non-scientists understood better is that although scientists seek to find out the truth, most scientists understand that the Universe is far more complex than can be described in its totality by humans.
The Office of Research and Development is committed to showing the difference the important work its scientists and engineers is making in peoples lives. We welcome your reaction to-and any comments on-this "Spotlight" feature article; please send them to draggan.sidney@epa.gov.
1 "Farming," Society and Solitude.
A paean: a song or hymn of praise, joy, or triumph, originally sung by Greeks in gratitude to Apollo-the objective of which is either to implore protection against disease and misfortune, or to offer thanks after such protection had been rendered. Back