Education and Scholarly Interests

Dr. Forman is the PAES Professor of Advanced Environmental Studies in Landscape Ecology at Harvard University.  He is a Member of the Graduate School of Design, Associate of The Harvard Forest, and Associate of the Harvard University Center for the Environment.  He received the bachelors degree at Haverford College and Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania.  His primary scholarly interest is linking science with spatial pattern to interweave nature and people on the land.  Often considered to be a “father” of landscape ecology and also of road ecology, he plays a key scholarly role in the emergence of urban-region ecology and planning.  Other research interests include conservation, changing land mosaics, land-use planning, and uses of the patch-corridor-matrix model in diverse fields.

Teaching

Forman taught at the Escuela Agricola Panamericana (Honduras), University of Wisconsin, Rutgers University, and several field stations.  At Harvard, he teaches graduate courses (landscape ecology, urban and suburban ecology, advanced topics in landscape ecology) at the Graduate School of Design, and a junior-senior course (ecology and land-use planning) in the Environmental Science and Public Policy program of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.  These courses explore ecological principles and applications for understanding, conservation, design, policy, management and planning of land.  He was a finalist for the Levenson Outstanding Teacher Award in Harvard College three times, and has received the Lindback Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Honors Internationally

Professor Forman has served as a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia, CNRS Chercheur in France, Miegunyah Fellow at the University of Melbourne (Australia), CRES Fellow at Australian National University, and Vice President of the International Association for Landscape Ecology.  He received medals from the Faculty of Science of Charles University (Prague) and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence (Italy).  He served as Consultant to the President of Costa Rica and Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, and to the Mayor and Chief Architect/Planner of Barcelona.  He is a Member of Clare Hall (University of Cambridge), an Honorary Member of the Italian Society of Landscape Ecology, and an Honorary Professor in the Academia Sinica in China.

Honors in the USA

Dr. Forman has received honorary degrees from Miami University (Doctor of Humane Letters), Harvard University (Master of Arts), and Florida International University (Doctor of Science).  He served as Vice President of the Ecological Society of America and President of the Torrey Botanical Society.  He established the Ecological Society of America’s Washington Office, overseeing its initial practices and policy.  For twelve years he directed a small ecological research center at Rutgers, the Hutcheson Memorial Forest Center.  Forman has been a Member of the Editorial Board of six scientific journals, has served on three National Research Council/TRB committees, and has written the Foreword for twelve published books.  His board membership includes The Trustees of Reservations and The Nature Conservancy-Massachusetts Chapter.  He was named Distinguished Landscape Ecologist in 1992 and was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Early Career

Professor Forman’s scholarly roots are in ecology, especially of forests, plants and birds.  Early research included experimentally explaining a hierarchical species distribution (pre-phyto/biotron era) (Forman 1964), moss ecology (Forman 1969), tropical rainforest (Forman 1975), and community structure (Allen and Forman 1976).  In an era before ecologists focused on spatial pattern and landscapes with a heavy human imprint, he launched into the first rigorously designed test of the effect of patch size on species diversity or richness, using old-growth woods in an agricultural landscape (Forman et al. 1976, Forman and Elfstrom 1975, Galli et al. 1976).  Immediately thereafter he spearheaded a rare multidimensional analysis and book for an entire landscape (Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape) (Forman 1979).

Landscape Ecology

These two steps galvanized the idea of “landscape ecology” (the ecology of large areas, such as seen from an airplane window), and with colleagues from several fields Forman began to build the groundwork for a potential field of study, including some foundation publications (Forman 1979, Forman and Godron 1981, Forman 1981, Forman 1983, Risser et al. 1983).  A pioneering landscape-wide modeling study emerged as a key for the subsequent logging-and-owls controversy in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (Franklin and Forman 1987).  Forman’s 1986 book (Landscape Ecology) with M. Godron was the first synthesis of modern landscape ecology, and elaborated the patch-corridor-matrix model for understanding and improving land-use pattern.  In 1995 he published the more definitive book on the subject, and extended the vision to include regions (Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions).  His research in landscape ecology continues (Milne and Forman 1986, Peterken et al. 1992, Cantwell and Forman 1994, Forman and Collinge 1995, Collinge and Forman 1998, Hersperger and Forman 2003).

Road Ecology

Again in 1995, challenged by the paradox of conspicuous road systems in the landscape and the scarcity of ecological understanding of them, Dr. Forman began collaborating with the transportation community and wildlife biologists to build foundations for a potential field of “road ecology”.  His early articles provided syntheses and ideas (Forman and Hersperger 1996, Forman and Alexander 1998, Forman and Deblinger 2000, Forman 2000, Forman et al. 2002).  The effort culminated in the spearheading of a multi-author volume co-written by 14 ecologists, hydrologist, and transportation experts (Road Ecology: Science and Solutions) (Forman et al. 2003).  This was the first comprehensive book on the ecology of roads and vehicles, and has effectively jump-started the field into rapid coalescence.  He continues publishing in road ecology, both its intellectual development and its solutions for transportation, the land and society (Forman 2004, 2006, Forman and McDonald 2007).

Urban Region Ecology and Planning

Professor Forman’s interest in “urban region ecology and planning” appears in an early small co-authored book (Landscape Ecology Principles for Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning) (Dramstad et al. 1996).  The concepts then began to gel in an ambitious planning project and book for Barcelona, Spain, that highlighted the importance of natural systems and their uses in an urban region (Mosaico territorial para la region metropolitana de Barcelona) (Forman 2004).  Further dimensions evolved in a local ecological and planning analysis for a suburban town (Forman et al. 2004) and in global-scale studies (McDonald et al. 2008, Forman 2008).  These diverse foundations, along with a spatial environmental analysis of 38 urban regions, large to small, worldwide, coalesced into a first-synthesis book for this challenging frontier of science, planning and society (Urban Regions: Ecology and Planning Beyond the City) (Forman 2008).

Primary Books

Forman, R. T. T., ed.  1979.  Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape.  Academic Press, New York.  601 pp.  [1998 edition, Rutgers University Press].

Forman, R. T. T. and M. Godron.  1986.  Landscape Ecology.  John Wiley, New York. 619 pp.  [1990, 1994 Chinese editions; 1993 Czech edition].

Zonneveld, I. S. and R. T. T. Forman, eds.  1990.  Changing Landscapes: An Ecological Perspective.  Springer-Verlag, New York.  286 pp.

Forman, R. T. T.  1995.  Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York.  632 pp.  [2000 Korean Edition (2002

Dramstad, W., J. D. Olson, and R. T. T. Forman.  1996.  Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-use Planning.  Published by Harvard University Graduate School of Design, American Society of Landscape Architects, and Island Press, Washington, D.C.  80 pp.  [2005 Spanish edition; 2006 Chinese edition; 2008 Farsi edition].

Forman, R. T. T., D. Sperling,  J. A. Bissonette, A. P. Clevenger, C. D. Cutshall, V. H. Dale, L. Fahrig, R. France, C. R. Goldman, K. Heanue, J. A. Jones, F. J. Swanson, T. Turrentine, and T. C. Winter.  2003.  Road Ecology: Science and Solutions.  Island Press, Washington, D.C.  481 pp.

Forman, R. T. T.  2004.  Mosaico territorial para la region metropolitana de Barcelona.  (Land Mosaic for the Greater Barcelona Region). Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona.150 pp.

Forman, R. T. T.  2008.  Urban Regions: Ecology and Planning Beyond the City. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York. 408 pp.

Selected Scholarly Articles

Forman, R. T. T.  1964.  Growth under controlled conditions to explain the hierarchical distributions of a moss, Tetraphis pellucida.  Ecological Monographs 34: 1-25.

Forman, R. T. T.  1969.  Comparison of coverage, biomass, and energy as measures of standing crop of bryophytes in various ecosystems.  Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 96: 582-591.

Forman, R. T. T.  1975.  Canopy lichens with blue-green algae: a nitrogen source in a Colombian rainforest.  Ecology 56: 1176-1184.

Forman, R. T. T. and B. A. Elfstrom.  1975.  Forest structure comparison of Hutcheson Memorial Forest and eight old woods on the New Jersey Piedmont.  Hutcheson Memorial Forest Bulletin (Rutgers University) 3: 44-51.

Forman, R. T. T., A. E. Galli, and C. F. Leck.  1976.  Forest size and avian diversity in New Jersey woodlots with some land-use implications.  Oecologia 26: 1-8.

Galli, A. E., C. F. Leck, and R. T. T. Forman.  1976.  Avian distribution patterns in forest islands of different sizes in Central New Jersey.  Auk 93: 356-364.

Allen, E. B. and R. T. T. Forman.  1976.  Plant species removals and old-field community structure and stability.  Ecology 57: 1233-1243.

Forman, R. T. T.  1979.  The Pine Barrens of New Jersey: an ecological mosaic.  In Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape, R. T. T. Forman, ed.  Academic Press, New York.   Pp. 569-585.

Forman, R. T. T. and D. C. Hahn.  1980.  Spatial patterns of trees in a Caribbean semi-evergreen forest.  Ecology 61: 1267-1274.

Forman, R. T. T. and M. Godron.  1981.  Patches and structural components for a landscape ecology.  BioScience 31: 733-740.

Forman, R. T. T.  1981.  Interaction among landscape elements: a core of landscape ecology.  In Proceedings of the International Congress of the Netherlands Society for Landscape Ecology.  Pudoc, Wageningen, Netherlands.  Pp. 35-48.

Forman, R. T. T. and R. E. J. Boerner.  1981.  Fire frequency and the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.  Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 108: 34-50.

Risser, P. G., J. R. Karr, and R. T. T. Forman.  1983.  Landscape Ecology: Directions and Approaches.  Illinois Natural History Survey, Special Publication Number 2, Champaign, Illinois.  18 pp.

Forman, R. T. T.  1983.  Corridors in a landscape: their ecological structure and function.  Ekologia (Czechoslovakia CSSR) 2: 375-387.

Maguire, D. A. and R. T. T. Forman.  1983.  Herb cover effects on tree seedling patterns in a mature hemlock-hardwood forest.  Ecology 64: 1367-1380.

Forman, R. T. T. and J. Baudry.  1984.  Hedgerows and hedgerow networks in landscape ecology.  Environmental Management 8: 495-510.

Milne, B. T. and R. T. T. Forman.  1986.  Peninsulas in Maine: woody plant diversity, distance, and environmental patterns.  Ecology 67: 967-974.

Franklin, J. F. and R. T. T. Forman.  1987.  Creating landscape patterns by forest cutting: ecological consequences and principles.  Landscape Ecology 1: 5-18.

Hardt, R. A. and R. T. T. Forman.  1989.  Boundary form effects on woody colonization of reclaimed surface mines.  Ecology 70: 1252-1260.

Forman, R. T. T. and P. N. Moore.  1992.  Theoretical foundations for understanding boundaries in landscape mosaics.  In Landscape Boundaries: Consequences for Biotic Diversity and Ecological Flows, A. J. Hansen and F. di Castri, eds.  Springer-Verlag, New York.  Pp. 236-258.

Peterken, G. F., D. Ausherman, M. Buchenau, and R. T. T. Forman.  1992.  Old-growth conservation within British upland conifer plantations.  Forestry 65: 127-144.

Cantwell, M. D. and R. T. T. Forman.  1994.  Landscape graphs: ecological modeling with graph theory to detect configurations common to diverse landscapes.  Landscape Ecology 8: 239-255.

Forman, R. T. T. and S. K. Collinge.  1995.  The “spatial solution” to conserving biodiversity in landscapes and regions.  In Conservation of Faunal Diversity in Forested Landscapes, R. M. DeGraaf and R. I. Miller, eds.  Chapman & Hall, London.  Pp. 537-568.

Forman, R. T. T. and A. M. Hersperger.  1996.  Road ecology and road density in different landscapes, with international planning and mitigation solutions.  In Trends in Addressing Transportation Related Wildlife Mortality, G. L. Evink et al., eds.  Publication FL-ER-58-96, Florida Department of Transportation, Tallahassee, Florida.  Pp. 1-22.

Forman, R. T. T. and A. M. Hersperger.  1997.  Ecologia del paesaggio e pianificazione: una potente combinazione. (Landscape ecology and planning: a powerful combination).  Urbanistica 108: 61-66.

Forman, R. T. T. and L. E. Alexander.  1998.  Roads and their major ecological effects.  Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 29: 207-231.

Collinge, S. K. and R. T. T. Forman.  1998.  A conceptual model of land conversion processes: predictions and evidence from a microlandscape experiment with grassland insects.  Oikos 82: 66-84.

Forman, R. T. T. and R. D. Deblinger.  2000.  The ecological road-effect zone of a Massachusetts (USA) suburban highway.  Conservation Biology 14: 36-46.

Forman, R. T. T.  2000.  Estimate of the area affected ecologically by the road system in the United States.  Conservation Biology 14: 31-35.

Forman, R. T. T.  2002.  The missing catalyst: design and planning with ecology roots.  In Ecology and Design: Frameworks for Learning, B. R. Johnson and K. Hill, eds.  Island Press, Washington, D.C.  Pp. 85-109.

Forman, R. T. T., B. Reineking, and A. M. Hersperger.  2002.  Road traffic and nearby grassland bird patterns in a suburbanizing landscape.  Environmental Management 29: 782-800.

Hersperger, A. M. and R. T. T. Forman.  2003.  Adjacency arrangement effects on plant diversity and composition in woodland patches.  Oikos 101: 279-290.

Forman, R. T. T.  2004.  Road ecology’s promise: What’s around the bend?  Environment 46: 8-21.

Forman, R. T. T., P. L. Reeve, H. Beyer, J. Bolduc, J. Ferguson, R. Johnson, A. Lukens, A.

Proulx, P. Siebert, B. Stokey, M. Thornton, and K. Edwards.  2004.  Open Space and Recreation Plan 2004: Concord, Massachusetts.  Natural Resources Commission, Concord, Massachusetts.  206 pp.

Forman, R. T. T.  2006.  Good and bad places for roads: effects of varying road and natural patterns on habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation.  In International Conference on Ecology and Transportation 2005 Proceedings.  CTE, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.  Pp. 164-174.

Forman, R. T. T. and R. I. McDonald.  2007.  A massive increase in roadside woody vegetation: goals, pros, and cons.  In International Conference on Ecology and Transportation 2007 Proceedings.  CTE, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.  Pp. 229-238.                           

Forman, R. T. T.  2008.  The urban region: natural systems in our place, our nourishment, our home range, our future.  Landscape Ecology 23: 251-253.

McDonald, R. I., P. Kareiva, and R. T. T. Forman.  2008.  The implications of current and future urbanization for global protected areas and biodiversity conservation.  Biological Conservation (in press).

Address

Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA