Montana State University

Land Resources and Environmental Sciences

Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences

Montana State University
P.O. Box 173120
Bozeman, MT 59717-3120

Tel: (406) 994-7060
Fax: (406) 994-3933
Location: 334 Leon Johnson Hall

Academic Programs:

Tel: (406) 994-3090
E-mail: lresinfo@montana.edu

Department Head:

Dr. Tracy M. Sterling

Scott Powell

Assistant Research Professor Ph.D. Ph.D., November 2004, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. Master of Environmental Management, May 1997, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC. Bachelor of Arts, May 1993, Biology Department, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN. Research interests include forest disturbance dynamics; integration of remote sensing data, GIS, and field data for ecological applications; modeling aboveground biomass and carbon sequestration; land cover and land use change analyses; and invasive species monitoring.

Recent Publications:

  • Savage, S.L., R.L. Lawrence, S.G. Custer, J.T. Jewett, S.L. Powell, and J.A. Shaw. 2012. Analyzing change in Yellowstone’s terrestrial emittanace with Landsat imagery. GIScience and Remote Sensing, 49(3): 317-345.
  • Jewett, J., R. Lawrence, L. Marshall, P. Gessler, S. Powell, and S. Savage. 2011. Spatiotemporal relationships between climate change and whitebark pine mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Forest Science 57(4): 320-335.
  • Watts, J.D., S.L. Powell, R.L. Lawrence, and T. Hilker. 2011. Improved classification of conservation tillage adoption using high temporal and synthetic satellite imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment 115, 66-75.
  • Thomas, N.E., C. Huang, S.N. Goward, S.L. Powell, K. Rishmawi, K. Schleeweis, and A. Hinds. 2011. Validation of North American forest disturbance dynamics derived from Landsat time series stacks. Remote Sensing of Environment 115, 19-32.
  • Healey, S.P., E. Lapoint, G. Moisen, and S. Powell. 2011. Low sensitivity of forest structure models to different spectral extraction kernals may benefit efforts to maintain the confidentiality of inventory plot locations. International Journal of Remote Sensing 32, 287-297.
  • Powell, S.L.,S.P. Healey, W.B Cohen, R.E. Kennedy, G.G. Moisen, K.B. Pierce, and J.L. Ohmann. 2010. Quantification of Live Aboveground Forest Biomass Dynamics with Landsat Time-Series and Field Inventory Data: A Comparison of Empirical Modeling Approaches. Remote Sensing of Environment 114: 1053-1068.
  • Powell, S.L, R.L. Lawrence, C. Sommers Austin, S. Wood. 2010. A flexible approach to help overcome limitations of moderate resolution satellite imagery for mapping invasive saltcedar on the Bighorn River, Montana. Journal of Terrestrial Observation 2(2): 9-22.
  • Powell, S.L., W.B. Cohen, Z. Yang, J.D. Pierce, and M. Alberti. 2008. Quantification of impervious surface in the Snohomish Water Resources Inventory Area of Western Washington from 1972-2006. Remote Sensing of Environment 112: 1895-1908.
  • Powell, S.L., A.J. Hansen, and W.B. Cohen. 2008. Mapping the extent and distribution of conifer cover increase in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In Dupont, A., and Jacobs, H. (Eds.), Landscape Ecology Research Trends (pp. 27-43). Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, New York.
  • Goward, S.N., J.G. Masek, W. Cohen, G. Moisen, G.J. Collatz, S. Healey, R.A. Houghton, C. Huang, R. Kennedy, B. Law, S. Powell, D. Turner, and M.A. Wulder. 2008. Forest disturbance and North American Carbon Flux.EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 89(11): 105-116.
  • Powell, S.L., and A.J. Hansen. 2007. Conifer cover increase in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Frequency, rates, and spatial variation. Ecosystems 10(2): 204-216.
  • Powell, S.L., D. Pflugmacher, A.A Kirschbaum, Y. Kim, and W.B. Cohen. 2007. Moderate resolution remote sensing alternatives: a review of Landsat-like sensors and their applications. Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, doi: 10.1117/1.2819342.
  • Zambon, M., R.L. Lawrence, A. Bunn, and S. Powell. 2006. Effect of alternative splitting rules on image processing using classification tree analysis. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 72(1): 25-30.
  • Hansen, A.J., R.L. Knight, J. M. Marzluff, S. Powell, K. Brown, P. H. Hernandez, and K. Jones. 2005. Effects of exurban development on biodiversity: Patterns, mechanisms, and research needs. Ecological Applications 16(6): 1893-1905.
  • Lawrence, R.L., A. Bunn, S. Powell, and M. Zambon. 2004. Classification of remotely sensed imagery using stochastic gradient boosting as a refinement of classification tree analysis. Remote Sensing of Environment 90: 331-336.
  • Wessels, K.J., R.S. Defries, J. Dempewolf, L.O. Anderson, A.J. Hansen, S. L. Powell, and E.F. Moran. 2004. Mapping regional land cover with MODIS data for biological conservation: Examples from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA and Para State, Brazil. Remote Sensing of Environment 92: 67-83.

Recent Grants:

  • Disturbance interactions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Time-series analyses of aerial photographs and Landsat satellite imagery. Montana Space Grant Consortium. 2012-2013. PI with Robert Kennedy.
  • Integrating and expanding a regional carbon monitoring system in the NASA Carbon Monitoring System. NASA Carbon Monitoring System Program. 2012-2013. Co-Investigator with Robert Kennedy and Van Kane.
  • Assessing the carbon sequestration potential of roadsides and roadside re-vegetation. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. 2011-2012. Co-PI with Rob Ament and Paul Stoy.
  • Developing methods for monitoring change in conifer cover across biophysical gradients in national parks. National Park Service. 2010-2012. Co-Investigator with Andrew Hansen.
  • Integrated, observation-based carbon monitoring for wooded ecosystems in Washington, Oregon, and California. USDA, NIFA. 2011-2013. Co-Investigator with Robert Kennedy, Warren Cohen, Janet Ohmann, Jerry Franklin, Van Kane, and James Lutz.
  • Medium-term forecasts of forest composition, structure, and function in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Response to and recovery from multiple disturbances. MSU, Interdisciplinary Proposal Development Fund. 2011. Co-Investigator with Paul Stoy and Mark Greenwood.
  • Role of North American Forest Disturbance and Regrowth in the North American Carbon Program: Integrated Analyses of Landsat and U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Data – Phase 2. NASA Carbon Cycle Science. 2008-2010. Co-Investigator with Samuel Goward, Warren Cohen, Sean Healey, Chengquan Huang, Robert Kennedy, Jeff Masek, and Gretchen Moisen.
  • Hyperspectral Sensor for Large-Area Monitoring of Carbon Dioxide Reservoirs and Pipelines. Department of Energy. 2009-2011. Co-Investigator with Kevin Repasky, Rick Lawrence, and Tracy Dougher.
  • Mapping Urbanization in the Snohomish Watershed, WA. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2006-2007. Co-PI with Warren Cohen.

Current instructional responsibilities:

  • LRES 571: Landscape and Ecosystem Ecology (Online only)

Other Links: