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John B. Taft
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1816 S. Oak Street Champaign, IL 61820 MC–652 Phone: 217-244-5046 Fax: 217-333-4949 Email: taft@inhs.illinois.edu Title: Plant Ecologist/Botanist Office Location: NRB | ||
| Activities | Senior Research Scientist. Principal duties include coordinating a biotic surveys program supported by contracts with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Illinois State Toll Highways Authority and supervising botanists supported on the contracts. Duties include performing surveys for threatened and endangered plants and natural areas in IDOT project areas; also, report review and development. Teaching activities: Serve on graduate committees and help direct student research projects, occasional guest lecturer. Outreach activities: I give numerous presentations annually to public and professional groups with a focus on the vegetational ecology of Illinois. |
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| Research |
Main research topics include: vegetational ecology and fire effects in oak woodland communities including flatwoods and barrens, development and analysis of a method for assessing floristic integrity for the Illinois flora, vegetation ecology of grasslands including prairies of Illinois and steppes of Kyrgyzstan in central Asia, and floristic surveys of unique habitats in Illinois. |
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| Professional affiliations |
International Association of Vegetation Scientists, Illinois Native Plant Society, Torrey Botanical Society, Southern Appalachian Botanical Society | ||
| Selected publications |
Taft, J. B. 2009. Effects of overstory stand density and fire on ground layer vegetation in oak woodland and savanna habitats. In: Hutchinson, T. F. (ed.). Proceedings of the 3rd Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference; 2008 May 20-22; Carbondale, IL. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-46. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. Taylor, C., J. B. Taft, and C. Warwick, editors. 2009. Canaries in the Catbird Seat - The Past, Present, and Future of Biological Resources in a Changing Environment. Illinois Natural History Survey Special Publication 30. Champaign. Taft, J. B., C. Hauser, and K. R. Robertson. 2006. Estimating floristic integrity in tallgrass prairie. Biological Conservation 131:42-51. Taft, J. B. 2003. Fire effects on community structure, composition, and diversity in a dry sandstone barrens. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 130:170-192. Taft, J. B., G. S. Wilhelm, D. M. Ladd, and L. A. Masters. 1997. Floristic Quality Assessment for vegetation in Illinois, a method for assessing vegetation integrity. Erigenia 15: 3-95. Taft, J. B., M. W. Schwartz, and L. R. Phillippe. 1995. Vegetation ecology of flatwoods on the Illinoian till plain. Journal of Vegetation Science 6: 647-666. |
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| Program Affiliates |
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Plant Biology |
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| Education | PhD, Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, 1999 MS, Botany, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 1982 BS, General Agriculture, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 1979 | ||