Forest Resources and Conservation

Dr. Ajay Sharma, Assistant Professor

Degrees:
PhD, Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, 2012
M.S., Forestry, Gujarat Agricultural University, India, 2002
B.S., Forestry, University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, India, 1999

I am a silviculturist and forest ecologist. I joined the School of Forest Resources & Conservation faculty in 2017. Previously, I worked as Assistant Professor of Natural Resource Management at Lincoln University (2014-2017). I am also a SFRC alumnus (Ph.D., 2012) and spent two years serving as Postdoctoral Researcher at the UF/West Florida Research and Education Center. Prior to my PhD, I worked in India with the Government of Delhi Department of Forests and Wildlife, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine.

Research interests:
My research interests broadly focus on understanding the effects of alternative forest management and silvicultural treatments on forest stand structure, composition, and development over time, particularly for stands with multiple-use or restoration management objectives. This understanding of stand dynamics helps forest managers to devise appropriate interventions to meet the diverse goals of management, including timber production, enhancement of wildlife habitat and biodiversity, structural complexity, carbon sequestration, biomass harvest, and forest restoration.