• Department Links ▼
  • ERE Home
  • Engineers Without Borders (EWB)
  • Faculty & Staff Directory
  • ERE Calendar
  • Mission and Objectives
  • ERE Facilities, Equipment & Data Resources
  • ERE Advisory Council
  • Contact Us
• Undergraduate Programs ▼
  • Undergraduate Program Overview
  • B.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering
  • B.S. in Forest Engineering
  • Student Advising
  • ERE Courses
  • Undergraduate Research
  • Computer Recommendations
  • Communication Guide
• Graduate Programs ▼
  • Overview of Graduate Study
  • Option Areas:
  • Ecological Engineering
  • Environmental Management
  • Environmental Resources Engineering
  • Geospatial Information Science & Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering
  • Current Graduate Students
  • ERE Courses
• Careers & Alumni ▼
  • ESF Career Services Jobs Database
  • Internships in Environmental Resources Engineering
  • Preparing for the FE Exam
  • Finding a Humanitarian Experience
  • Alumni Scholarship

Forest Restoration, Agroforestry, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Ecological Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)

We have been working with indigenous groups in Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico looking at how traditional Mayan agroforestry systems could offer tools for forest restoration, and sustainable ecosystem design in Latin America. Ecosystems designed and managed through traditional ecological knowledge often map very well to core tenets of ecological engineering – 1) humans as a part of the environment rather than apart from the environment, and 2) design for the mutual benefit of humans and the environment. Some traditional designs produce agricultural products, conserve primary forest, accelerate forest growth through selective plantings, and the systems provide habitat for howler monkeys, spider monkeys and deer. We are working with indigenous Mayan partners to determine how traditional ecosystem design can assist in regional restoration and conservation efforts (e.g., the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor). We have also begun researching how lessons learned about sustainable design in Mesoamerica could be applicable in New York.

Representative publications in this area by our faculty:

• Martin, J.F., E. Roy, S.A.W. Diemont, and B.G. Ferguson, 2010. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK): Ideas, inspiration, and designs for ecological engineering. Ecological Engineering 36: 839-849.
• Diemont, S.A.W., J. Bohn, D. Rayome, S. Kelsen, and K.Cheng, 2010. Comparisons of Mayan forest management, restoration, and conservation. Forest Ecology and Management, In press.
• Diemont, S.A.W. and J.F. Martin, 2009. Lacandon Maya ecological management: Sustainable design for subsistence and environmental restoration. Ecological Applications 19:254-256.
  
• Diemont, S.A.W., J.F. Martin, S.I. Levy-Tacher, R.B. Nigh, P. Ramirez-Lopez, and J. D. Golicher. 2006. Lacandon Maya forest management: restoration of soil fertility using native tree species. Ecological Engineering 28: 205-212.

Contact Stewart Diemont, sdiemont@esf.edu for more information about this graduate studies area.