Francis E. Putz

Francis E. "Jack" Putz (born 23 March 1952) is an American ecologist[1] and distinguished professor at the University of Florida,[2] known for his research on climbing plants (lianas),[3] tropical forest ecology,[4] and sustainable forest management.[5] He is a former president of the Association for Tropical Biology and Jefferson Science Fellow with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Education

Putz earned a bachelor's degree in Science Education from the University of Wisconsin in 1973. Prior to beginning graduate studies, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer at the Forest Research Institute in Malaysia from 1973 to 1976.[6]

He completed his Ph.D. in ecology at Cornell University in 1982[7] and held a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Oxford, where he conducted his research on tropical forestry.[8]

Career

Putz has been a faculty member at the University of Florida since 1982, where he became a Distinguished Professor in 2016.[4]

He served as President of the Association for Tropical Biology in 1996[9] and was a Bullard Fellow at Harvard University in 2002.[10] From 2004 to 2009, he held the Prince Bernhard Chair of International Conservation at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.[11] He was the Senior Fulbright Research Fellow at Rhodes University in South Africa in 2006,[12] Jefferson Science Fellow with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C. and Indonesia from 2017 to 2018.[13] He also held research professorship at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia from 2023 to 2026.[14]

Putz was a senior associate with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) where he conducted research and policy discussions on sustainable tropical forest management and local capacity building in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.[6]

Research

His work integrates natural history,[15] biomechanics, silviculture,[16] savanna restoration, fire ecology, and conservation science, with a long-standing emphasis on managing tropical forests for  biodiversity conservation, global climate change mitigation, and rural development.[17]

Putz also focuses on the study of lianas (woody climbing plants).[18] His early work on their natural history, abundance, and climbing strategies helped establish liana ecology as a distinct field within tropical forest science.[19]

Putz's research on tropical forestry began with a focus on silviculture (applied forest ecology) but evolved into a broader, transdisciplinary approach that integrates ecology, economics, and policy.[4]

In 1993, he introduced Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL) as a financially viable approach to lowering carbon emissions from timber harvests.[20]

Selected publications

Books and chapters

  • Moro, J.C.; Putz, F.E. (April 19, 2018). Borneo Dammed: A Very Family Affair. Cypress Highlands Press of Florida. ISBN 978-1974429813.
  • Putz, F.E (9 June 2022). From One Old Dog to Another. ISBN 979-8800810929.
  • Putz, F.E (February 14, 2019). YAUPON WINS: An Ethnobotanical Novella. Cypress Highlands Press of Florida. p. 39. ISBN 978-1796754469.
  • Putz, F. E; Mooney, H.A, eds. (1991). The Biology of vines. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511897658. ISBN 978-0-521-39250-1.
  • Putz, F.E (December 16, 2014). Finding Home in the Sandy Lands of the South: A Naturalist's Journey in Florida. Cypress Highlands Press of Florida. p. 130. ASIN B00R52OSWW.
  • Schnitzer, S.A; Bongers, F.; Burnham, R. J; Putz, F.E, eds. (2015). The ecology of lianas. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-39249-2.
  • Zarin, D. J; Alavalapati, J. R. R.; Putz, F. E; Schmink, M. (2005). Working Forests in the Neotropics: Conservation Through Sustainable Management?. Biology and Resource Management Series. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12907-7.
  • Putz, F.E; Thompson, I.D (2020). "Defining sustainable forest management in the tropics". In Blaser, J.; Hardcastle, P. D (eds.). Achieving sustainable management of tropical forests. Cambridge, UK: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing. ISBN 9781786762481.
  • Putz, F.E; Sirot, L.K; Pinard, M.A (2001). "Tropical forest management and wildlife: silvicultural effects on forest structure, fruit production, and locomotion of non-volant arboreal animals.". In Fimbel, R.; Grajal, A.; Robinson, J. (eds.). The Cutting Edge: Conserving Wildlife in Managed Tropical Forests. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231114547.

Journals

See also

Reduced-impact logging

References

  1. ↑ Lohan, Tara (2016-04-29). "The challenges of conserving tropical forests". CIFOR-ICRAF Forests News. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  2. ↑ Williams Jr., Lovett E. "Francis E. "Jack" Putz: It seems right to stop damaging environment when we die". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  3. ↑ Joseph, Jordan. "Why some trees never touch each other in the canopy". Earth.com. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  4. 1 2 3 "Professor Francis E. Putz calls for greater recognition of sustainable tropical forest management". International Tropical Timber Organization. 2026-03-13. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  5. ↑ Butler, Rhett (2009-08-20). "Weak forest definition may undermine REDD efforts". Mongabay. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  6. 1 2 "Contributing to the conservation of tropical forests, and protecting livelihoods and ecosystems Featured scientist Jack Putz". Center for International Forestry Research. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  7. ↑ "Francis E Putz". The Conversation. 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  8. ↑ Hoag, Colin (2018-07-31). "Fates of Forests in Borneo: A 40-Year Retrospective". Engagement. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  9. ↑ Chamber, D.W. "Professor Putz's Presidential address to the ATB meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, 10–14 August". tropicalbio.org. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  10. ↑ Colburn, Betsy. "ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HARVARD FOREST 2001-2002" (PDF). Harvard Forest.
  11. ↑ "Prins Bernhard Chair holders - Wildlife Ecology and Nature Restoration - Utrecht University". www.uu.nl. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  12. ↑ "2026 Francis E. Putz: Ecology and Evolution Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards". Research.com. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  13. ↑ "Francis E. (Jack) Putz – Department of Biology". people.clas.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  14. ↑ "Study finds simple, cheap way to use forests to slow global climate change". Phys.Org.
  15. ↑ Whang, Oliver (2022-07-11). "The Question You Didn't Know Needed Answering: Are Gophers Farmers?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  16. ↑ Rowe, Nick; Isnard, Sandrine (2009). "Biomechanics of climbing palms and how they climb". Plant Signaling & Behavior. 4 (9): 875–877. Bibcode:2009PlSiB...4..875R. doi:10.4161/psb.4.9.9426. ISSN 1559-2324. PMC 2802813. PMID 19847117.
  17. ↑ Hains, Brigid. "The tradeoffs of savanna restoration in a tree-crazed world | Aeon Essays". Archived from the original on 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  18. ↑ Schnitzer, Stefan A.; Bongers, Frans; Burnham, Robyn J.; Putz, Francis E. (2015). Ecology of lianas. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9781118392409. ISBN 978-1-118-39240-9.
  19. ↑ Putz, Francis E. (1984). "The Natural History of Lianas on Barro Colorado Island, Panama". Ecology. 65 (6): 1713–1724. Bibcode:1984Ecol...65.1713P. doi:10.2307/1937767. ISSN 0012-9658. JSTOR 1937767.
  20. ↑ Ellis, Peter W.; Gopalakrishna, Trisha; Goodman, Rosa C.; Putz, Francis E.; Roopsind, Anand; Umunay, Peter M.; Zalman, Joey; Ellis, Edward A.; Mo, Karen; Gregoire, Timothy G.; Griscom, Bronson W. (2019-04-15). "Reduced-impact logging for climate change mitigation (RIL-C) can halve selective logging emissions from tropical forests". Forest Ecology and Management. 438: 255–266. Bibcode:2019ForEM.438..255E. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2019.02.004. ISSN 0378-1127.
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