Rate My Professor Scott Abella

Scott Abella is an Associate Professor of Restoration Ecology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where his work aligns with the Biology faculty through expertise in plant and ecosystem sciences. He earned a B.S. in Natural Resources Management with a Chemistry minor from Grand Valley State University, an M.S. in Forest Resources with an Experimental Statistics minor from Clemson University in 2002, and a Ph.D. in Forest Science with a Restoration Ecology emphasis from Northern Arizona University in 2005. His doctoral dissertation examined environmental and vegetation gradients in ponderosa pine landscapes. Dr. Abella's career includes founding Natural Resource Conservation LLC in 2014, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Ecological Restoration journal, and developing an international research program since 2006 spanning southwestern U.S. deserts, Ohio oak woodlands, and Kuwaiti deserts. He maintains a 25-year collaboration with Toledo Metro Parks on research and publications.

Dr. Abella's research interests include restoration ecology, fire ecology, invasion biology, plant ecology, desert ecosystems, and forest ecology. As Principal Investigator of the UNLV Conservation Ecology Lab, his team focuses on applied conservation science to repair damaged ecosystems, support native species, and restore functions like wildlife habitat. Projects address post-fire recovery, invasive species management, nurse plant facilitation in desert restoration, community responses to disturbances, and minimal-input techniques for habitat rehabilitation. He teaches Plant Ecology (BIOL444/644), Restoration Ecology (BIOL403/603), Forest Ecology (BIOL435/635), and graduate special topics in Community and Dryland Ecology. Key publications feature 'Resilience and alternative stable states after desert wildfires' (Ecological Monographs, 2020), 'Techniques for restoring damaged Mojave and western Sonoran habitats, including those for threatened desert tortoises and Joshua trees' (Desert Plants, 2023), 'Do nurse plant effects strengthen over time? Results from 12 years of desert habitat restoration' (Plant Ecology, 2023), 'Formation and ecology of oak shrubby layers during long-term oak savanna restoration' (Restoration Ecology, 2025), and 'Conserving America's National Parks' (2015).