Research Expertise and Interest

global change, ecology, sustainability, energy policy, theoretical ecology, biodiversityl

Research Description

Harte’s research focuses on the effects of human actions on, and the linkages among, biodiversity, ecosystem structure and function, and climate. His work spans a range of scales, from plot to landscape to global, and utilizes field manipulation experiments, the study of patterns in nature, and mathematical modeling. Two specific goals are to understand the nature and causes of patterns in the distribution and abundance of species and to understand the extent to which ecosystem responses to climate change may result in feedbacks to climate that can either ameliorate or exacerbate global warming. An overarching goal of his research is to understand the interdependence of human well-being and the health of ecosystems.

Learn more on the Harte Lab website.

In the News

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.
January 13, 2021

A Ghastly Future Unless Extraordinary Action Is Taken Soon On Sustainability

Science Magazine
A global team of scientists, including UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources John Harte state in a recent study that without immediate and drastic intervention, humans face a "ghastly future" — including declining health, climate devastation, tens of millions of environmental migrants and more pandemics — in the next several decades. The researchers cite more than 150 scientific studies and conclude, "That we are already on the path of a sixth major extinction is now scientifically undeniable." "Humanity is running an ecological Ponzi scheme in which society robs nature and future generations to pay for short-term economic enhancement today," said Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University professor emeritus of population studies and a co-author of the study.
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