Professor Emeritus
Email:
dwlarson@uoguelph.ca
Doug Larson
I joined the Department of Botany in 1975 and continued to conduct research and teach undergraduate and graduate courses until my retirement in 2009 from the present-day Department of Integrative Biology. Since that time I have written two more books - 'Storyteller Guitar' in 2011 and 'the dogma ate my homework' in 2022. I also am very active internationally as a listed expert on the topic of deforestation and I spend a great deal of time interacting with young people all around the world on this topic. There also continues to be a great deal of media interest in the ancient forests on the cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment and accordingly I interact regularly with radio, television, print and podcast producers regarding old growth forests.
Book
Larson, D.W., Matthes, U. and Kelly, P.E. 2000. Cliff Ecology. Cambridge University Press, UK.
This book provides a summary of our current understanding of ecological structure and function of cliffs around the world.
Chapters in Books
Larson, D.W., Matthes-Sears, U. and Kelly, P.E. 1999 The Niagara Escarpment Cliff Ecosystem. In: Savanna, Barrens and Rock Outcrop Plant Communities of North America. Eds: R. Anderson, J. Fralish and J. Baskin. Cambridge University Press, UK. pp. 362-374
This chapter puts the Niagara escarpment cliff ecosystem into context by comparing it to other hostile environments in North America.
Booth, B.D., and Larson, D.W. 1999. Impact of language, history and choice of system on the study of assembly rules. In: Assembly Rules. Eds: E. Weirher and P. Keddy. Cambridge University Press, UK. pp. 206-229
This chapter takes a critical look at the concept of assembly rules and concludes that it is an important and well known concept that has recently been given a new name.
Research Papers
McMillan, M., Nekola, J. C., and Larson, D. W. 2002. The effects of rock climbing on the vegetation of the Niagara Escarpment in Southern Ontario, Canada. Cons. Biol. (2002).
This study used a careful experimental design to determine the effects of rock climbing on the structure of cliff biotic communities. The impact of rock climbing was significantly negative in all areas where rock climbing might occur.
deGruchy, M., Matthes, U., Gerrath, J. A. and Larson, D. W. 2001. Natural recovery and restoration potential of severely disturbed talus vegetation at Niagara Falls: assessment using a reference system. Rest. Ecol. 9:311-325.
This paper defines the pre-restoration species composition and distribution patterns in the Niagara Gorge. It shows that the conditions are wholly different from the conditions that apply on naturally-occurring talus slopes of the escarpment.
Larson, D. W. 2001. The paradox of great longevity in a short-lived trees species. Experimental Gerontology 36:651-673.
This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the factors that lead to exceptional longevity in what is supposed to be a short-lived tree species.
Matthes, U. and Larson, D. W. 2001. Light attenuation by limestone rock and its constraint on the depth distribution of endolithic algae and cyanobacteria. Int. J. Plant Sci. 162: 263-270.
This paper presents the first quantitative analysis of the influence of rock type on the attenuation of light that supports populations of endolithic organisms living in the Niagara Escarpment.