Armin Weise

Graduate Research Assistant
Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department

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Email: aweise@clemson.edu

Educational Background

M.S. Forest Resources
Clemson University 2023

B.A. Environmental Studies
Warren Wilson College 2016

Profile

Armin is a PhD student in Dr. Don Hagan's Forest and Fire Ecology Lab, where he studies challenges to oak-pine woodland restoration in the Southern Appalachians. His research focuses on 24 years of prescribed fire effects, examining compositional and structural changes, treatment impacts across ecological zones, herbaceous layer restoration success, the role of ericoid mycorrhizal shrubs in mesophication, and woodland resilience to Hurricane Helene's wind damage. This work builds on the long-running Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) Study in Western North Carolina. He is also investigating how the invasive grass Miscanthus sinensis spreads with prescribed fire to protect past successes in woodland fire management. His MS research on longleaf pine restoration in South Carolina's Sandhills Wiregrass Gap enhanced understanding of how silviculture and harvesting methods support the reestablishment of critical understory herbaceous vegetation.

Armin earned a bachelor’s degree from Warren Wilson College in 2016, where his research focused on the mycorrhizal associations of the non-photosynthetic pygmy pipes (Monotropsis odorata). Following his undergraduate studies, Armin worked extensively in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, implementing forest management, consulting forest landowners, and advocating for the reintroduction of fire to natural communities. He is particularly passionate about studying local flora and fungal diversity, with a special interest in grassy woodlands, savannas, and wetlands.

Research Interests

Forest Ecology, Fire Ecology, Fire-Adapted Communities, Woodlands, Grasslands, Ecological Forestry, Silviculture, Plant Fungal Interactions, Mycorrhizal Ecology, Plant Diversity, Cultural Use of Forest Products

Publications

Weise, A., Hagan, D., Baldwin, R., Hiesl, P., & Kerrigan, J. (2024) Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) woodland vegetation response to three slash manipulation treatments as part of restoration efforts in a wiregrass-free ecosystem. Forest Ecology and Management, 569, 122125.

Elliott, T. F., Trappe, J. M., & Weise, A. (2015). Australasian Sequestrate Fungi 19: Hysterangium colossum sp. nov. IMA Fungus, 6(1), Article 1.

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