Kelsey Emard, PhD
Assistant Professor, Geography, Oregon State University
Research
My lab's research supports rural communities' adaptive response to environmental change with a focus on agricultural and coastal livelihoods. We build evidence and test hypotheses to understand the interconnected realms of soil, water, vegetation, atmosphere, and human management practices and how they impact rural livelihoods. Our approach centers the role of multi-scalar power dynamics in shaping environmental change and adaptive choices among rural community members. We use a wide range of mixed methods including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, surveys, participatory mapping, textual analysis, soil testing, remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and environmental modeling.
Current research, in partnership with Colorado State University and the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, examines agriculturalists' adaptive management decisions in Oregon, Colorado, and Iowa and outcomes of adaptation for soils and livelihoods. The study also examines how models and data can better reflect farmers' knowledge and address their needs. Our work improves regional soil moisture forecasting and informs the selection of appropriate adaptive practices.
Another area of focus examines livelihood change and economic opportunities for coastal communities. This thread of work examines opportunities to creatively navigate environmental stressors on seaweed and shellfish mariculture, coastal agriculture, and fisheries. This work has primarily been in Oregon and Costa Rica.
Other past and ongoing projects in our lab have included:
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an examination of land use change and environmental risk in Costa Rica's coastal Talamanca canton,
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mapping of hazelnut expansion and orchard health in the Willamette Valley,
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studies of livelihood change in high-mountain, Andean communities, and
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research on community co-management of marine protected areas and coastal grounds, in both Cahuita National Park in Costa Rica and the Chumash Heritage National Marine in California.
This art representing the social-ecological landscape of Talamanca, Costa Rica was made by Alister Méndez Venegas of Hone Creek, Talamanca for the Comité Persona Joven Talamanca. Alister worked as a research assistant with me in Costa Rica. Used with permission.
Selected Publications
2026. Emard, K., M. Morrison, J. Ajibade, K. Ash, M. Lachaud, M. Mendez, A. Quarkume, F. Tormos-Aponte, and A. Valle. Addressing epistemic risk in actionable Earth System Science. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0218.1.
2026. Steele, H., K. Emard, and M. Raleigh. Informing snow measurement site selection with remote sensing and local ecological knowledge: A case study in Oregon. Remote Sensing Applications: Environment and Society, 101912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2026.101912
2026. Noto, M.K., J.C. Garwood, K. Emard, J.L. Childress, J.A. Barth, F. Chan, and H. Hudson. Human-centered design (HCD) implementation of the AUTOS framework for ocean technology co-development. Journal of Ocean Technology (accepted July 2026).
2026. Gosnell, H., K. Emard, and E. Hyde. Social sustainability of ranching and the U.S. beef industry: A case study of three counties in Oregon’s High Desert Basin. Agriculture and Human Values (accepted August 2026).
2025. Emard, K., & K. Miller. Community perspectives on co-management of marine protected areas: Comparing cases in Costa Rica and Colombia. Journal of Latin American Geography (accepted July 2025).
2025. Emard, K., O. Cameron, E. Hyde, D. Lombardozzi, & W. Wieder. Integrating farmers’ perspectives in climate modeling. Seventh Oregon Climate Assessment, ed. E. Fleishman, 299-304. Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. https://doi.org/10.5399/osu/1181.
2024. Emard, K., O. Cameron, W. Wieder, D. Lombardozzi, R. Morss, & N. Sobhani. Integrating farmers’ perspectives into Earth system model development: Interviews with end users in the Willamette Valley, Oregon to guide actionable science. Weather, Climate, and Society, 16(3): 453-465. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-23-0066.1
2024. Emard, K., C. Edgeley, C. Wölfle Hazard, D. Sarna-Wojcicki, W. Cannon, O. Cameron, L. Hillman, K. McCovey, D. Lombardozzi, S. Pearse, and A. Newman. Connecting local ecological knowledge and Earth system models: Comparing three participatory approaches. Ecology & Society, 29(4):43-57. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15570-290443
2023. Emard, K., & V. Gordon. “My planting is to farm community”: Afro-Costa Rican women’s agrarian food practices. In Beyond the Kitchen Table: Exploring the Role of Black Women in Global Food Systems, ed. P. McCutcheon, L. Best, & T. Rajack-Talley. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 978-1-4696-7595-4
2023. Shah, S.H.... K. Emard, et al. Connecting physical and social science datasets: Challenges and pathways forward. Environmental Research Communications. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/acf6b4
2021. Gosnell, H., K. Emard, & E. Hyde. Taking stock of social sustainability and the U.S. beef industry. Sustainability, 13, 11860. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111860
2021. Emard, K., & L. Nelson. Geographies of global lifestyle migration: Towards an anticolonial approach. Progress in Human Geography, 45(5): 1040-1060. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132520957723
2020. Kinkaid, E., K. Emard, & N. Senanayaka. The podcast-as-method? Critical reflections on using the podcast to produce geographic knowledge. Geographical Review, 110(1-2): 78-91. https://doi.org/10.1111/gere.12354
2017. Emard, K.* The impacts of mining on livelihoods in the Andes: A critical overview. The Extractive Industries and Society, 4(2): 410-418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2017.03.001
*published under old name of K. Brain
This mural in the Casa de la Cultura Marcus Garvey in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica shows an Afro-Costa Rican representation of their experiences of land uses and livelihood change in coastal Talamanca.