Bio

Moffatt K. Ngugi is a Research Assistant at the Natural Resource Ecology Lab at Colorado State University. _____________________________________________ I attended the University of Nairobi in Kenya where I graduated with a BSc. Range Management in 1998. In 2001, I received a Masters degree at Gent University in Belgium within a Physical Land Resources program. This involved study of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum with an emphasis on soil science. I Joined Colorado State University as a doctoral student in 2002 within the auspices of the NREL working with Dr. Rich Conant. Our research is focused on utilizing remote sensing to assess grassland processes and to develop tools to understand how rangeland management impacts carbon dynamics. My general areas of interest in ecology include: grassland structure and function, rangeland production dynamics, plant response to grazing, and how remote sensing can be useful in these fields.

Research projects

• Impacts of Ungulates in a sand dune ecosystem
  The aim of the study was to investigate if treading by grazers causes compaction of the soil and whether chemical soil parameters have been influenced by ungulate dung input into the system.
  
• Does grazing impact light-use-efficiency in pastures?
  Light-use-efficiency (LUE) – the efficiency with which absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) is converted into plant biomass – is a key variable necessary for assessing aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) using remotely sensed data.
  
• Remote sensing of grazing intensity: Case studies in the short- and midgrass steppes
  Grasslands are important biomes all over the world both in spatial extent (40% of land mass) and in ecosystem function. Understanding grassland production dynamics necessitates detailed knowledge of how these areas are managed currently and in the past.
  
• Remote sensing and ecological modeling for assessing C sequestration in semiarid grassland soils
  A key component for sustaining production in grassland ecosystems is the maintenance of soil organic matter (SOM), which can be strongly influenced by management.
  

Publications

• Does grazing impact light-use-efficiency in pastures?
  
• Impact of Recently Introduced Large Herbivores on Soil Propoerties of Coastal Dune Soils of the "Westhoek" Nature Reserve, Belgium
  The impact on soil of recently introduced ungulates, i.e. Shetland ponies, ...

Presentations

• Characterizing Key Resource Areas in Kenya by Remote sensing
• Characterizing Key Resource Areas in Kenya by Remote sensing
• Characterizing precipitation use efficiency by remote sensing at a short-grass steppe
• Remote sensing of grazing intensity: Case studies in the short- and midgrass steppes
• Grazing management and light use efficiency: implications for remote sensing ANPP in grasslands

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