Molly Van Appledorn

Molly Van Appledorn is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Michigan and a master of science from Utah State University. Her research will guide cost-effective riparian reforestation and conservation projects by identifying native Maryland plant species necessary to efficiently inventory and monitor floodplain ecosystem function. By bridging the fields of plant ecology, fluvial geomorphology, and landscape ecology through rigorous modeling and quantitative approaches, her work offers interdisciplinary insights into riparian ecology not previously explored by traditional approaches. Her research questions have been shaped through interactions with practitioners and policy makers who are faced with the challenge of meeting societal demands on natural capital, often with limited resources. She looks forward to sharing her results with a variety of end-users. When she’s not crunching numbers in the office or swatting mosquitoes in the field, Molly may be found playing banjo, hunting for fossils, or chasing squirrels with her dog Pepper.