Environmental Change
Scientists in the SPE program study multiple different dimensions of environmental change, always focusing on connections to the human population. These include consumption practices, land use/land cover, biodiversity, vegetation and invasive species, and endangered animal species and their habitats.
Key Projects
CNH: Feedbacks Between Human Community Dynamics and Socio-ecological Vulnerability in a Biodiversity Hotspot
BCS 1211498. NSF. 2012-2017. $664,318.
Key Personnel: Scott T. Yabiku, PI, Dirgha J. Ghimire, MI Subcontract PI.
Reciprocal Relations Between Population & Environment
R01 HD033551. NIH/NICHD. 2009-2012. $979,533.
Key Personnel: William G. Axinn, PI, Dirgha J. Ghimire, Co-I, Jianguo Liu, Co-I.
PIRE Collaborative Research and Training in Social Context, Population Processes, and Environmental Change
OISE 0729709. NSF. 2007-2014. $2,492,303.
Key Personnel: William G. Axinn, PI, Jianguo Liu, Co-PI.
Key Recent Publications
- An, Li, Alex Zvoleff, Jianguo Liu, and William G. Axinn. 2014. “Agent-Based Modeling in Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS): Lessons from a Comparative Analysis.” Annals of the Association for American Geographers 104(4):723-745. DOI.
- Piotrowski, Martin, Dirgha J. Ghimire, and Ronald R. Rindfuss. 2013. “Farming Systems and Rural Out-Migration in Nang Rong, Thailand and Chitwan Valley, Nepal.” Rural Sociology 78(1):75-108. DOI. PMC3963478.
- Link, Cynthia F., William G. Axinn, and Dirgha J. Ghimire. 2012. “Household Energy Consumption: Community Context and Fuelwood Transition.” Social Science Research 41:598-611. DOI. PMC3461177.
- Axinn, William G., and Dirgha J. Ghimire. 2011. “Social Organization, Population, and Land Use.” American Journal of Sociology 117(1):209-258. DOI. PMC3162250.
- Axinn, William G., Jennifer S. Barber, and Ann E. Biddlecom. 2010. “Social Organization and the Transition from Direct to Indirect Consumption.” Social Science Research 39:357-368. DOI. PMC2877213.
- Ghimire, Dirgha J., and William G. Axinn. 2010. “Community Context, Land Use and First Birth.” Rural Sociology 75(3):478-513. DOI. PMC2945390.
- Massey, Douglas S., William G. Axinn, and Dirgha J. Ghimire. 2010. “Environmental Change and Out-Migration: Evidence from Nepal.” Population and Environment 32(2):109-136. DOI. PMC3042700.
- Shrestha, Binoj K., Dirgha J. Ghimire, and Dharma Raj Dangol. 2009. “Lahare Banmara (Mikania micrantha) ko Atikraman; Badhdo Chunauti.” Paryabaran 89:26-30. DOI.
- Ghimire, Dirgha J., and Lynette F. Hoelter. 2007. “Land Use and First Birth Timing in an Agricultural Setting.” Population and Environment 28(6):289-320. DOI.
- Biddlecom, Ann E., William G. Axinn, and Jennifer S. Barber. 2005. “Environmental Effects on Family Size Preferences and Subsequent Reproductive Behavior in Nepal.” Population and Environment 26(3):583-621. DOI.
- Ghimire, Dirgha J., and Paul Mohai. 2005. “Environmentalism and Contraceptive Use: How People in Less Developed Settings Approach Environmental Issues.” Population and Environment 27(1):29-61. DOI.
- Axinn, William G., and Jennifer S. Barber. 2003. “Linking People and Land Use: A Sociological Perspective.” Pp. 285-313 in People and the Environment, edited by J. Fox, R.R. Rindfuss, S. Walsh, and V. Mishra. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Barber, Jennifer S., Ann E. Biddlecom, and William G. Axinn. 2003. “Neighborhood Social Change and Perceptions of Environmental Degradation.” Population and Environment 25(2):77-108. DOI.
- Shivakoti, Ganesh P., William G. Axinn, Prem B. Bhandari, and Netra Chhetri. 1999. “The Impact of Community Context on Land Use in an Agricultural Society.” Population and Environment 20(3):191-213. DOI.
- Axinn, William G., and Ganesh P. Shivakoti. 1997. “Demographic Issues and the Use of Natural Resources.” Pp. 83-85 in People, Participation, and Sustainable Development: Understanding the Dynamics of Natural Resource Systems, edited by Shivakoti et al. Bloomington, Indiana and Rampur, Chitwan: Winrock International.