Erle C. Ellis

Research Interests

Landscape Ecology, Global Change, Sustainable Landscape Management, Anthropocene

Research Focus

My research investigates the ecology of human-managed ecosystems at local and global scales towards the goal of informing sustainable stewardship of the biosphere in the Anthropocene.

Recent projects

• Anthroecology: A new paradigm for ecology in an anthropogenic biosphere
• GLOBE: Online tools for global synthesis of local knowledge
• Ecosynth: Inexpensive tools for scanning landscapes in 3D
• Anthromes (anthropogenic biomes): global analysis of human/ecosystem interactions

Selected Publications

Full list & PDF downloads: http://anthroecology.org/people/ellis/publications

BOOK: Ellis, Erle C. 2018. Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press (UK release March 2018, US release May 2018). Part of OUP’s Very Short Introduction Series. [Buy at Amazon.com]

Ellis, E.C. 2021. Land Use and Ecological Change: A 12,000-Year History. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 46: 1-33.

Ellis, E.C., et al.. 2021. People have shaped most of terrestrial nature for at least 12,000 years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118(17): e2023483118.

Stephens, L. et al. (ArchaeoGLOBE project; 120 authors)… Ellis, E. (2019). Archaeological assessment reveals Earth’s early transformation through land use. Science 365:897-902.

Ellis, E.C. 2019. Sharing the land between nature and people. Science 364:1226-1228.

Ellis, E., M. Maslin, N. Boivin, and A. Bauer. 2016. Involve social scientists in defining the Anthropocene. Nature 540:192–193.

Ellis, E.C. 2015. Ecology in an Anthropogenic Biosphere. Ecological Monographs 85(3):287–331

Ellis, E.C., J.O. Kaplan, D.Q. Fuller, S. Vavrus, K. Klein Goldewijk, and P. H. Verburg. 2013. Used Planet: A Global History. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110(20):7978-7985.

Dandois, J.P. and E.C. Ellis. 2013. High spatial resolution three-dimensional mapping of vegetation spectral dynamics using computer vision. Remote Sensing of Environment 136:259-276.

Ellis, E.C. 2011 Anthropogenic transformation of the terrestrial biosphere. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Science 369(1938):1010-1035.

Ellis, E.C., K. Klein Goldewijk, S. Siebert, D. Lightman, and N. Ramankutty. 2010. Anthropogenic transformation of the biomes, 1700 to 2000. Global Ecology and Biogeography 19(5):589-606.

Ellis, E.C. and PK. Haff. 2009. Earth Science in the Anthropocene: New Epoch, New Paradigm, New Responsibilities. EOS Transactions 90(49):473

Ellis, E.C., N. Neerchal, K. Peng, H.S. Xiao, H. Wang, Z. Yan, S.C. Li, J.X. Wu, J.G. Jiao, H. Ouyang, X. Cheng, and L.Z. Yang. 2009. Estimating long-term changes in China’s village landscapes. Ecosystems 12 (2):279-297

Ellis, E.C., and N. Ramankutty. 2008. Putting people in the map: anthropogenic biomes of the world. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6(8):439-447.

Presentations

Complete list & downloads http://anthroecology.org/people/ellis/presentations

Courses Taught

GES 120: Environmental Science & Conservation
GES 305: Landscape Ecology
GES 405/605: Applied Landscape Ecology
GES 412/612: Biogeochemical Cycles in the Global Environment
GES: 485/685: Field Methods in Geography: Environmental Mapping

As Visiting Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design
GSD 6241: Ecologies, Techniques, Technologies III