Rate My Professor Erin Questad

Erin Questad is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). She earned her Ph.D. with honors in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Kansas. Questad's research specialization is restoration ecology, where she tests ecological questions related to the conservation and restoration of endangered plant communities. She employs ecological field experiments, measures of plant functional traits, geographic data collected by land managers, and remote sensing to address issues from leaf to landscape scales. Her active research encompasses community assembly of restored plant communities, biodiversity-ecosystem function in heterogeneous agroecological landscapes, and remote sensing along with practical tools for post-fire restoration monitoring.

Key projects include restoration of invaded ecosystems using a community assembly framework in Hawaiian drylands and California grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands. Questad investigates feedbacks between restoration and agricultural management in a complex citrus-avocado agroecosystem in the Santa Clara River Valley, Ventura County, California, collaborating with colleagues at Cal Poly Pomona, The Nature Conservancy, and UCANR. She also uses remote sensing data to examine invasion dynamics and landscape planning for restoration and reintroduction, currently working with land managers on a project in Angeles National Forest that evaluates the efficacy of different restoration prescriptions across sites varying in abiotic stress and resource availability. Her scholarly impact is evidenced by highly cited publications such as 'Coexistence through spatio-temporal heterogeneity and species sorting in grassland plant communities' (Ecology Letters, 2008; 226 citations), 'Restoration of prairie community structure and ecosystem function in an abandoned hayfield: a sowing experiment' (2007; 177 citations), 'Remote sensing for restoration planning: how the big picture can inform stakeholders' (2017; 87 citations), 'Mapping habitat suitability for at-risk plant species and its implications for restoration and reintroduction' (2014; 84 citations), and 'Floristic quality as an indicator of native species diversity in managed grasslands' (2006; 81 citations). Questad served as a Faculty Fellow in 2021-2022 and contributes to the development of the SPACES Institute at Cal Poly Pomona.