Advancing Ecological Understanding through the Convergence of Machine Learning and Environmental Infrastructure: Understanding Carbon Exchange Rates

Speaker: Dr. Sparkle Malone, Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Carbon Capture, Yale University

Hosted by: Dr. Mirela Tulbure, CGA Faculty Fellow and Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources

Summary: In ecological systems, nonlinearities emerge from complex interactions and feedback loops across multiple scales. Capturing resilient and emergent patterns is challenging, yet essential for thriving under uncertain conditions. As global change accelerates, the adaptive management of complex systems necessitates advancements in and integration of ecology, physical and analytical research infrastructure, and machine learning. Currently, our understanding of the environmental factors influencing exchange rates of greenhouse gases (CO₂, H₂O, and CH₄) between Earth’s surface and atmosphere is limited, particularly regarding spatial and temporal variability. Intricate feedbacks between biological processes, climate, and land cover changes further complicate our understanding of these rates across diverse ecosystems.

In this forum, Dr. Malone will discuss how 1) leveraging existing infrastructure and data streams from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), AmeriFlux, and FLUXNET, and 2) integrating network science and machine learning can overcome biases in data collection and measuring functional relationships between flux observations (responses) and their environmental drivers (meteorological and land surface) in order to elucidate spatio-temporal variability of flux responses across ecosystems. Flux data can be improved by accounting for surface heterogeneity and evolving sample characteristics over time. This research represents a convergence of physical and analytical infrastructure to deepen our understanding of ecosystems’ effects on the atmosphere.

About the speaker: Dr. Sparkle L. Malone obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Alabama in 2014, where she studied the carbon fluxes in subtropical wetland ecosystems. She then went on to work for the USDA Forest Service at Rocky Mountain Research Station (2014-2017) and Florida International University (2017- 2022). At FIU she established the Malone Disturbance Ecology lab where her primary research focus was to improve our understanding of how climate and disturbance regimes influence spatial and temporal variability in ecosystem structure and function. Using remote sensing and eddy covariance data and models, she explores questions related to ecosystem condition, sustainability, and vulnerability to climate extremes. In the fall of 2022, she joined the Yale School of the Environment and the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture.

Recording: https://youtu.be/VGSfRihjZ9c