Stuart K. Allison
Watson Bartlett Professor of Biology; Director of Green Oaks Biological Field Station
Meet Professor Allison
I am fascinated by how plant communities recover from disturbance, in particular from human disturbance. As a result I have become interested in the restoration and reconstruction of badly damaged plant communities. Tallgrass prairies are one of the most badly disturbed ecosystems in the world. About 99.9% of the original tallgrass prairie in Illinois has been lost. The only way we will ever have more tallgrass prairie is if we grow it.
I am currently studying the reconstructed prairies at Green Oaks, Knox's biological field station. The prairie reconstructions were initiated by the late Paul Shepard in 1954 and continued by Peter Schramm. My prairie research is mostly dedicated to studying and monitoring changes in the prairies at Green Oaks.
Recently I have been examining the ecological and social-cultural context of ecological restoration. Good restoration has to be ecologically valuable (restoring ecosystem health and function) but good restoration cannot occur if it is not meaningful to people. I'm exploring ways to develop better models for producing restorations that meet both ecological and social needs.
Years at Knox: 1997 to present
Email Professor Allison: sallison@knox.edu
Education
Ph.D., Biology, 1991, University of California Berkeley.
M.S., Biology , 1986, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island.
B.S., Biology, 1981, University of Puget Sound.
Teaching Interests
Populations, organisms, genetics and molecular biology, plants, principles of ecology, field botany, conservation biology, ethnobotany, field biology, First Year Preceptorial, Green Oaks Term.
Full Curriculum Vitae - (PDF)
Selected Professional Accomplishments
Honors/Grants
Fulbright Scholar Fellowship to study Ecological Restoration, England, 2010.
Publications
Routledge Handbook of Ecological and Environmental Restoration, edited by Stuart Allison and Stephen Murphy. New York: Routledge. 2016.
Ecological Restoration and Environmental Change: Renewing Damaged Ecosystems. Earthscan Press, a division of Routledge, Abingdon, UK. (2012).
"The paradox of invasive species: Do restorationists worry about them too much or too little?" In I.D. Rotherham and R. Lambert (editors) Invasive and Introduced Plants and Animals: Human Perceptions, Attitudes, and Approaches to Management. Earthscan Press, London, UK. (2012): 265-275.
"Differences in the effects of drought upon restored and remnant prairies (Illinois)." Ecological Restoration 26 (2008):95-97.
"You can't not choose: Embracing the role of choice in ecological restoration." Restoration Ecology 15 (2007):601-605.
Book review in Proceedings of the 2004 North American Prairie Conference.
"What do we mean when we talk about ecological restoration?" Ecological Restoration 22 (2004): 281-286.
"Geographic distribution of Hemidactylium scutatum." With M. Meyer '99 and J. Crawford. Herpetological Review 33 (2002): 217.
"When is a restoration successful? Results from a 45-year-old tallgrass prairie restoration." Ecological Restoration 20 (2002): 10-17.
Presentations
Statement honoring Knox professor emeritus Pete Schramm for his work in prairie restoration, North American Prairie Conference, Illinois State University, Normal, IL. July 17-20, 2016.
"With respect to the ESA: how ecological is ecological restoration? A brief history and a look to the future." 99th Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA, August 2014.
"The History of Ecological Restoration: Where has the field been and where might it go?", Symposium, Madison, Wisconsin, October 2013.
"A comparative study of global attitudes towards ecological restoration: Where have we been and where are we going?" Presented at the Society for Ecological Restoration World Conference, August 2011.
"The paradox of invasive species: Do restorationists worry about them too much or too little." Presented at the Society for Ecological Restoration meeting, August 2009.
"Challenges in maintaining a long term prairie restoration" – Invited and featured speaker at the Grassland Restoration Network Workshop held in Madison, Wisconsin, 2008.
"You can’t not choose: Embracing the role of choice in ecological restoration." Presented at the joint meeting of the Ecological Society of America and the Society for Ecological Restoration, 2007.
"The Language of Restoration." Invited Talk, 2005 Iowa Prairie Conference, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
"Effective Use of a Field Station for Undergraduate Education in a Changing Liberal Arts College Environment." Organized and Hosted, Pew Midstates Science and Mathematics Consortium, Green Oaks Field Research Center, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois.
"Dig Into Spring." Keynote address on the necessity of ecological restoration when gardening, Master Gardeners meeting, University of Illinois Extension, Galesburg, Illinois, 2005.
"When is a restoration successful? Lessons from Green Oaks." Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, 2005.
Professional Service
Member, Board of Directors of the Society for Ecological Restoration.
Coordinating Editor for Restoration Ecology.
Panelist, National Science Foundation Biology Directorate Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.
Participant, "In Search of Earth Ethics" course taught by Jane Goodall, Stephan Harding, and Kate Rawles, Schumacher College, Devon, England.
Member, Ecological Society of America.
Member, Society for Conservation Biology.
Member, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.
Campus & Community Involvement
Member, Knox College Executive Committee, 2005-2008 and 2012-present.
Chair, Department of Biology, 2001-2010.
Director, Green Oaks Biological Field Station, 1999-present.
Curator of the Herbarium, 1997-present.
Advisor, Knox Environmental Management Cooperative Program with Duke University; Alpha Phi Omega; Outdoor Recreation Club, current.