Fire has historically been an infrequent component of the Mojave Desert ecosystem. However, the proliferation of non-native invasive grasses has led to larger, more severe wildfires in the past several decades. In 2020, the Dome Fire devastated around 40,000 acres of dense joshua tree forest in the Mojave National Preserve, threatening a climate refuge for the joshua tree. I evaluated the efficacy of two common revegetation methods—seeding and outplanting—surveyed natural plant recovery on the burn area and investigated whether spatial heterogeneity in soil microbiota and nutrients affected outplant survivorship and growth.

Riley's research was supported by a 2021 Paul Silva Student Research grant.

Riley is a senior at Pitzer College pursuing a self-designed major combining biology and geology, but his primary interests are in plant ecology, restoration ecology and conservation. Riley is also interested in the interactions between living systems and larger earth systems, and how those linkages can be used to promote ecosystem resilience in a rapidly changing climate. When Riley is not hugging trees or looking at rocks, Riley is probably hiking, cycling local trails, or rock climbing!