Beverly Collins 
Associate Professor | Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC, UNITED STATES
Beverly Collins' research interests include vegetation ecology, especially mechanisms that drive structure & dynamics of plant communities.
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Biography
Beverly Collins' research interest includes: vegetation ecology, especially mechanisms that drive structure, diversity and dynamics of plant communities; ecology of rare and invasive species; plant community response to disturbance and environmental change; restoration and conservation of plant communities.
Industry Expertise (3)
Research
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Areas of Expertise (5)
Biology
Ecological Methods
Ecology
Ecology and Evolution
Physiological and Ecosystem Ecology
Education (3)
Rutgers University: Ph.D., Botany 1985
Rutgers University: M.S., Botany 1979
University of Kentucky: B.S., Botany 1977
Links (3)
Media Appearances (7)
Fall colors behind schedule for WNC, but right around the corner, experts say
Asheville Citizen Times online
2021-10-13
Given that weather, mostly the heat, peak fall colors are about a week behind, said Western Carolina University professor and fall foliage forecaster Beverly Collins.
When will fall colors peak in Western North Carolina?
WLOS online
2021-10-01
Western North Carolina University biology professor, Beverly Collins, said earlier this month that she expects leaf peepers will see spottier bright reds and yellows this year, thanks to a warm and wet summer, and a less pronounced peak in late October.
Grandfather Mountain shows off first Fall leaf colors of the season!
ABC 15 News online
2021-09-30
Western North Carolina University biology professor, Beverly Collins, said earlier this month that she expects leaf peepers will see spottier bright reds and yellows this year, thanks to a warm and wet summer, and a less pronounced peak in late October.
Leaf Forecast 2021: WNC Fall Colors Will Peak In October
BPR online
2021-09-07
The fall colors of red, orange and yellow will be best at high elevation in mid-October says Professor Beverly Collins, who teaches biology at Western Carolina University.
What is the fall foliage forecast for Western North Carolina's mountains? Experts weigh in
Asheville Citizen Times online
2021-09-03
This is mostly because trees thrive — and stay green — in warm, moist weather, according to Beverly Collins, a biology professor and fall foliage forecaster at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
WCU professor makes 2021 fall color prediction for leaf-looking season
WLOS online
2021-09-02
Beverly Collins, Western Carolina University’s fall color forecaster, announced her bold predictions this week that leaf-looking season this year will be pleasant and reasonably colorful in the region.
Fall color forecaster makes annual prediction for leaves
WCU Stories online
2021-09-02
Beverly Collins, Western Carolina University’s fall color forecaster, announced her bold predictions this week that leaf looking season this year will be pleasant and reasonably colorful in the region.
Event Appearances (5)
The Long View
Inaugural William H. Martin Appalachian Research Symposium Lily Cornett Woods
Soil respiration changes across forest openings, edges, and interiors
WCU Summer Undergraduate Symposium
Paleoecological History of a High Elevation Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina
Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting Spartanburg, SC
Soil respiration changes across forest harvest openings
Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting Montgomery, AL
Paleoecological History of a High Elevation Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina
Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference Statesboro, GA
Articles (5)
Old-Growth Forests in the Southern Appalachians: Dynamics and Conservation Frameworks
Ecology and Recovery of Eastern Old-Growth Forests2018 In the southern Appalachian Mountains, compositions, structures, and dynamics of forest communities vary across steep topographic gradients, such as elevation and slope aspect, position on slope, steepness, and slope shape (Whittaker 1956). For instance, in mesic sites, the forest transitions across elevations from lower elevation cove hardwoods and hemlock forests to higher elevation northern hardwoods and, where the mountains surpass approximately 1,680 meters, spruce-fir forests.
Sedimentary Proxy Evidence of a Mid-Holocene Hypsithermal Event in the Location of a Current Warming Hole, North Carolina, USA
Quaternary Research2017 A wetland deposit from the southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, USA, has been radiocarbon dated and shows continuous deposition from the early Holocene to the present. Non-coastal records of Holocene paleoenvironments are rare from the southeastern USA. Increased stable carbon isotope ratios (?13C) of sedimentary organic matter and pollen percentages indicate warm, dry early- to mid-Holocene conditions.
The germination ecology of Helonias bullata L. (swamp pink) with respect to dry, saturated, and flooded conditions
Aquatic Botany2016 Poor sexual recruitment is a major conservation concern for the rare obligate wetland plant Helonias bullata L. (swamp pink). Helonias predominately occurs in forested wetlands amongst hummock-hollow topography where water levels fluctuate spatially and temporally, creating a wide variety of moisture microsite conditions for germination.
Introduction to Natural Disturbances and Historic Range of Variation: Type, Frequency, Severity, and Post-disturbance Structure in Central Hardwood Forests
Natural Disturbances and Historic Range of Variation2016 Throughout the history of upland hardwood forests of the Central Hardwood Region, natural disturbances have been integral to shaping forest structure and composition, and essential in maintaining diverse biotic communities. In this chapter, we introduce the geographic scope and dynamic history of climate, natural disturbances, and human influence on central hardwood forests.
Shifts in functional traits among tree communities across succession in eastern deciduous forests
Forest Ecology and Management2014 Throughout the eastern deciduous forest (EDF) region, disturbances, including fire, wind storms, and landslides, interweave with complex topography and vegetation history to produce a mosaic of forest types and ages. Forest composition and dynamics following disturbance can depend on the interaction of plant traits related to resource capture, regeneration, and growth with changes in the post-disturbance environment.
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