Ryan Blackburn

he/him/his

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Natural Resources and the Environment Section

About

My research explores how ecosystems respond to disturbance and restoration by combining fieldwork with remote sensing technologies. Vegetation processes operate across multiple scales, which makes it challenging to connect on the ground measurements with broader ecosystem patterns. I work on developing new ways to apply remote sensing technologies to ecological questions, helping us better understand how ecosystems change through space and time. Ultimately, my work aims to provide tools and science-based evidence that support restoration, conservation, and sustainable land use.

Education

PhD - Northern Arizona University

MS - Northern Illinois University

BS - Northern Illinois University

Recent Research

Blackburn, R. C., Allington, G., Motzer, N., Munson, S.M., and Huang, Q. (2025). UAV-derived models of vegetation characteristics do not transfer to extreme drought and wet conditions across a Northern Arizona landscape. Landscape Ecology, 40(3), 1-17.

Atkins, D.H., Blackburn, R. C., Laughlin, D.C., Moore, M.M., and Sánchez Meador, A. J. (2025). Handheld lidar sensors can accurately measure herbaceous biomass. Ecosphere, 16(6), e70232.

Blackburn, R. C., Buscaglia, R., & Sánchez Meador, A. J. (2021). Mixtures of airborne lidar-based approaches improve predictions of forest structure. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 51(8), 1106-1116.

Contact Information

Remote, Long Beach, CA 90804

rcb383 [at] cornell.edu