I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow under Prof. William F. Laurance of James Cook University. 

My research concerns the trends, causes, and patterns of tropical forest-cover change at large spatial and temporal scales, where 'forest change' encompasses natural forest regeneration, deforestation, plantation reforestation, and ephemeral canopy cover change. In general it describes how forest changes reflect trends in land use, settlement and livelihoods, such that forest change and social change become inter-twined in space and time.  I give special attention to the spatial patterns of forest and social change and explain the ‘how’, 'why' and 'what' of forest change by defining the contexts in which it occurs. 

My interests are varied are inter-disciplinary, but center on the following major themes:

Tropical Deforestation: as by smallhodler and inudstrial agricultural expansion, wildfires, and mining and infrastructre development;

Tropical Reforestation: as through natural processes following agricultural abandonment or community and industrial plantation reforestation;

Pathways of Socio-Environmental Change: integrated trajectories of social and environmental change and their development over time and space;

Forest Management: as in contexts of growing demand and threats to forests, such as during resource booms, economic growth, forest colonization;

Threats to Forest Integrity: particularly global, resource-baed, agro-industiral threats such as mining, timber extraction, and oil-palm production, but also demographic and economic growth.

Future Forest Scenarios: entailing simple or complex estimations of future forest extent and the threats and implications thereof for forest management and biodiversity.

Interests

Research

• Indonesia; tropical forest; tropical forest regeneration; forest transition; geography; land-change science; sustainability science; sustainability science; society-nature interaction; long-term socio-ecological research; social ecology; integrated land-change science; wildfires; Borneo; Panama; Latin America; forest plantation; deforestation; campesino; deforestation scenarios

Research Disciplines

• Environmental Science and Management (0502)
• Ecological Applications (0501)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)
• Remnant Vegetation and Protected Conservation Areas (9613)
• Ecosystem Assessment and Management (9605)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Sloan S, Campbell M, Alamgir M, Collier-Baker E, Nowak M, Usher G and Laurance W (2018) Infrastructure development and contested forest governance threaten the Leuser Ecosystem, Indonesia. Land Use Policy, 77. pp. 298-309
• Alamgir M, Campbell M, Sloan S, Goosem M, Clements G, Mahmoud M and Laurance W (2017) Economic, socio-political and environmental risks of road development in the tropics. Current Biology, 27 (20). pp. R1130-R1140
• Locatelli B, Lavorel S, Sloan S, Tappeiner U and Geneletti D (2017) Characteristic trajectories of ecosystem services in mountains. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 15 (3). pp. 150-159
• Mahmoud M, Sloan S, Campbell M, Alamgir M, Imong I, Odigha O, Chapman H, Dunn A and Laurance W (2017) Alternative routes for a proposed Nigerian superhighway to limit damage to rare ecosystems and wildlife. Tropical Conservation Science, 10. pp. 1-10
• Sloan S, Locatelli B, Wooster M and Gaveau D (2017) Fire activity in Borneo driven by industrial land conversion and drought during El Niño periods, 1982-2010. Global Environmental Change, 47. pp. 95-109
• Wilson S, Schelhas J, Grau R, Nanni A and Sloan S (2017) Forest ecosystem-service transitions: the ecological dimensions of the forest transition. Ecology and Society, 22 (4).
• Rudel T, Sloan S, Chazdon R and Grau R (2016) The drivers of tree cover expansion: global, temperate, and tropical zone analyses. Global Environmental Change, 58. pp. 502-513
• Sloan S, Bertsky B and Laurance W (2016) African development corridors intersect key protected areas. African Journal of Ecology, 55 (4). pp. 731-737
• Sloan S (2016) Tropical forest gain and interactions amongst agents of forest change. Forests, 7 (3).
• Sloan S, Goosem M and Laurance S (2016) Tropical forest regeneration following land abandonment is driven by primary rainforest distribution in an old pastoral region. Landscape Ecology, 31 (3). pp. 601-618
• Laurance W, Sloan S, Weng L and Sayer J (2015) Estimating the environmental costs of Africa's massive "development corridors". Current Biology, 25 (24). pp. 3202-3208
• Sloan S and Sayer J (2015) 2015 Forest Resources Assessment shows positive global trends but forest loss and degradation persist in poor tropical countries. Forest Ecology and Management, 352. pp. 134-145

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 43+ research outputs authored by Dr Sean Sloan from 2005 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Drivers of Change in Farming Systems and Forest Cover in Ghana (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Foreign Investments in African Extractive Industries: a Focus on China-Africa with Case Studies in Cameroon (2015, PhD , Associate Advisor)
• Impact of roads on farm size, market participation, and forest cover change in rural Ghana (2016, Masters , Secondary Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.