Dr. Allington explores why and how ecosystems change in response to changes in management and climate, and what this means for the future resilience of social-ecological systems. Her research focuses on drivers and consequences of degradation in arid rangelands, primarily in the southwestern United States and in northern China and Mongolia. Dr. Allington is also involved in research on global spatial-temporal patterns of biodiversity change, and advancing the way we model land cover change in arid lands. Most of her research involves a combination of fieldwork, data synthesis and modeling to find ways to integrate natural and social science data, using tools and methods from ecology, geography, remote sensing and more.