Ph.D., 2006, Stanford University
Scientists like me, and undergraduate students like the ones I teach, have more in common than one might think. The job of both is to inquire - to seek answers to questions. The big difference is that the student tends to see inquiry as a process of looking up facts and ideas in books, while the scientist sees inquiry as a means to generate new facts and ideas. My research and teaching are animated by the desire to turn the student into a scientist. I hope that students in my courses come to see themselves as experimenters and analysts who can use data to find their own answers to novel questions.
My research examines the ecosystem service benefits to humans that may accrue from restoring natural ecosystems. My lab’s current main focus is in quantifying the carbon sequestration that results from restoration, and how it can be compensated in voluntary or compliance markets around the world. We also study the ecology of invasive species, and how pest species management relates to ecosystem service provision. A third focus is on understanding how land managers prioritize and accomplish restoration projects, and in particular how scientific evidence and stakeholder needs figure into their decision-making. Undergraduates assist on these projects doing fieldwork, benchwork, and library research, and are encouraged to take on projects, present posters at conferences, and co-author articles for publication. SCU students who wish to get experience in environmental research should contact me to see if opportunities are available.
ENVS 21: Introduction to Environmental Science
ENVS 110: Statistics for Environmental Science
ENVS 144: Natural History of Baja California
ENVS 151: Restoration Ecology
Underlined text indicates undergraduate co-author.
Matzek, V., and K.A. Wilson. 2021. Public support for restoration: Does including ecosystem services as a goal engage a different set of values and attitudes than biodiversity protection alone? PLoS One 16(1): e0245074. pdf https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245074.
Funk, J.L.; Parker, I.M.; Matzek, V.; Flory, S.L.; Aschehoug, E.T.; D'Antonio, C.M.; Dawson, W; Thomson, D.M.; Valliere, J. 2020. Keys to enhancing the value of invasion ecology research for management. Biological Invasions 22: 2431-2445. pdf https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02267-9
Matzek, V.; Lewis, D.L.; O'Geen, A.T.; Lennox, M.; Hogan, S.D.; Feirer, S.T.; Eviner, V.; Tate, K.W. 2020. Increases in soil and biomass carbon stocks as a result of rangeland riparian erosion control. Carbon Balance and Management 15: 16. pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13021-020-00150-7
Matzek, V., K.A. Wilson, and M. Kragt. 2018. Mainstreaming of ecosystem services as a rationale for ecological restoration in Australia. Ecosystem Services https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.11.005
Wilson, K.A., K. Davis, V. Matzek, and M. Kragt. 2018. Concern about threatened species and ecosystem disservices underpin public willingness to pay for ecological restoration. Restoration Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12895
Matzek, V., J. Stella, and P. Ropion. 2018. Development of a carbon calculator tool for riparian forest restoration. Applied Vegetation Science, https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12400
Dybala, K., V. Matzek, T. Gardali, and N. Seavy. 2018. Carbon sequestration in riparian forests: a global synthesis and meta-analysis. Global Change Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14475
Matzek, V. 2018. Turning delivery of ecosystem services into a deliverable of ecosystem restoration. Restoration Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12872
Matzek, V., E. Gornish, and K. Hulvey. 2017. Emerging approaches to successful ecological restoration: five imperatives to guide innovation. Restoration Ecology 25:S110-S113.
Guerrero, A., L. Shoo, G. Iacona, R.J. Standish, C.P. Catterall, L.Rumpff, K. DeBie, V. Matzek, and K. Wilson. 2017. Using structured decision-making to set restoration objectives when multiple values and preferences exist. Restoration Ecology, doi/ 10.1111/rec.12591