Research at Sedgwick Reserve

If you are a researcher interested in conducting fieldwork at Sedgwick, follow this link.

About Research at Sedgwick Reserve

The many natural communities of Sedgwick Reserve serve as valuable sites of scientific research. In any given year more than 50 projects run concurrently, with individual researchers spending an average of 14 days a year conducting their field studies. Projects range from soil science to ecology to astronomy and beyond. As an example of a typical year, a list of active research in 2023 can be found here.

While many of our projects are based at UCSB, it is not uncommon for researchers to come from other states and countries to conduct work in this wild landscape. Sedgwick scientists publish an average of between 10 and 25  peer-reviewed journal manuscripts a year. Publications can be viewed on Sedgwick’s Zotero page.

Sedgwick Reserve also has a research center onsite, The La Kretz Research Center at Sedgwick Reserve, which facilitates and supports a wide variety of research efforts at the Reserve. To learn more the Center visit their website.

Newsletter Research Features

Read recent articles from Sedgwick’s newsletter to get an in-depth view of research conducted at the Reserve


Underground Climate Resilience: PhD student Jacob Weverka looks at carbon storage in Sedgwick’s grasslands (June 2024)

Another successful prescribed burn brings field and air crews from NASA’s FireSense Project to Sedgwick Reserve (December 2023)

Fire Research Continues at Sedgwick Reserve: Researchers collect pre-burn data for the upcoming TREX prescribed burn this fall  (September 2023)

From the Ground and Sky: Jean Allen combines remote sensing data and ground measurements to study water stress among Sedgwick’s iconic oaks (September 2023)

Prescribed Burning at Sedgwick Integrates Community Objectives and Research Advances (December 2022)