John Rogan

Professor, Geography

John Rogan joined the faculty as Assistant Professor in Fall 2003. Dr. Rogan received his Ph.D. (Geography) degree from the joint doctoral program at San Diego State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was funded by a research grant from NASA’s Land Cover and Land Use Change Program. He received M.A. and B.A. degrees (Geography) from the University of Arizona.

John is a geographer specializing in landscape ecology, urban forestry, fire ecology, optical remote sensing and GIScience. Recent research projects have involved monitoring land cover change in California using remote sensing date, mapping wildfire burn severity in southern California and southeastern Arizona, and mapping forest types in Massachusetts using multi-season Landsat data. John is currently working on three funded research projects:

  • Characterization of urban heat island dynamics in relation to canopy and impervious surface in Massachusetts Gateway Cities (Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation)
  • Assessment and scoping of infrastructure and extractive industries in relation to deforestation (Climate and Land Use Alliance)
  • Geographic analysis of the territorial overlap between extractive industries and livelihoods in Honduras (Oxfam America)
  • Mapping Beetles, Trees, Neighborhoods, and Policies: A Multi-Scaled, Urban Ecological Assessment of the Asian Longhorned Beetle Invasion in New England (HERO) (National Science Foundation)
  • Impact of Extreme Weather Events on the Forests of the Yucatán Peninsula (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation)

Degrees

  • Ph.D. in Geography, San Diego State University/ University of California, Santa Barbara, 2004
  • M.A. in Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona, 1998
  • B.A. in Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona, 1996

Affiliated Department

Geography

Scholarly and creative works

  • Presentations

    Where has solar been developed with respect to land use?

    Western Massachusetts Solar Forum
    Virtual
    Tuesday, September 12 from 12-4 PM
    2024
    Sponsored by UMass Clean Energy Extension
    John Rogan
  • Presentations

    Assessing the impact of ground solar installations on forest cover in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

    2024 Land & Water Conservation Summit
    The University of Rhode Island
    March
    2024
    Sponsored by Audubon Society of Rhode Island
    John Rogan
  • Presentations

    Assessing the health and survivorship of trees in cities and towns throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island

    Blackstone River Coalition Meeting
    Online
    February
    2024
    John Rogan
  • Chapters In Books

    Remote Sensing Handbook
    Chapter: Change Detection

    2024
    John Rogan, Nicholas Geron, Su Ye
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Mapping Historical Urban Tree Canopy Change in Columbus Park Neighborhood in Worcester, Massachusetts

    Published in Arborculture and Urban Forestry
    2024
    David Henriques, John Rogan, Nicholas Geron, Kasyan Green, Marc Healy, Lara Roman, Richard Harper
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Examining Local Climate Zones in the Context of the Urban Heat Island Effect: A case study in Worcester Massachusetts

    Published in Remote Sensing Letters
    2024
    Madeline Regenye, John Rogan, Nicholas Geron
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Linking Tree Cover Change to Historical Management Practices in Urban Parks

    Published in Landscape Ecology
    2023
    Vol. 38
    Sabine Nix, Lara Roman, Marc Healy, John Rogan, Hamill Pearsall
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Residents’ roles as environmental policy actors using an urban governance framework: A case study of a tree planting program

    Published in Cities
    2023
    Vol. 135
    N A Geron, D G Martin, J Rogan, M Healy
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Mapping photovoltaic power stations and assessing their environmental impacts from multi-sensor datasets in Massachusetts, United States

    Published in Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment
    2023
    Vol. 30
    Shiqi Tao, John Rogan, S u Ye, Nicholas Geron
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    “Become a Gas Leak Detective!” Evaluating a multigenerational citizen science program for connecting distribution pipelines to energy justice

    Published in Energy Research & Social Science
    2023
    Vol. 105
    Sarah Lerman-Sinkoff, Sara Wylie, Kirk Jalbert, Gaylen Moore, John Rogan
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Urban Forest Management Motivations and Practices in Relation to a Large-Scale Tree Planting Initiative

    Published in Society & Natural Resources
    2023
    Vol. 36
    Issue #11
    Marc Healy, Nicholas Geron, Richard Harper, John Rogan, Deborah Martin, Lara Roman
  • Presentations

    “Community Research in Worcester: Environmental Revitalization and Green Island”. 

    Co-presented with Dr. Deborah Martin to “MONT 199N-S02 Worcester Stories/Green Island” Course, Dr. Sarah Luria, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.  20 March 2023.

    MONT 199N-S02 Worcester Stories/Green Island” Course, Dr. Sarah Luria, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.
    Holy Cross
    March
    2023
    Sponsored by College of the Holy Cross
    John Rogan
  • Presentations

    “Community Research in Worcester: Environmental Revitalization and Green Island”

    Holy Cross First Year course "MONT 199N-S02 Worcester Stories/Green Island”
    Worcester, MA
    March
    2023
    John Rogan, Deborah Martin
  • Presentations

    Examining Urban Tree Planting Efforts to Mitigate Heat Island Impacts and Foster More Resilient and Equitable Cities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

    Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and Foresters’ Association Annual Conference
    Sturbridge, Ma
    January
    2023
    Sponsored by Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and Foresters’ Association
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Detecting subtle change from dense Landsat time series: case studies of mountain pine beetle and spruce beetle disturbance

    Published in Remote Sensing of Environment
    2022
    S Ye, John Rogan, Z Zhu, T Hawbaker, S Hart, R Andrus, A Maddens, J Hicke, J. Ronald Eastman, Dominik Kulakowski
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Linking tree cover change to historical management practices in urban parks

    Published in Landscape Ecology
    2022
    Sabine Nix, Lara A Roman, Marc Healy, John Rogan, Hamil Pearsall
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Historical urban tree canopy cover change in two post-industrial cities

    Published in Environmental Management
    2022
    Vol. 70
    Issue #1
    Marc Healy, John Rogan, Lara A Roman, Sabine Nix, Deborah G Martin, Nicholas Geron
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Wildfire controls on land surface properties in mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests of Sierra Nevada and Klamath mountains, Western US

    Published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
    2022
    Vol. 320
    Surendra Shrestha, Christopher A Williams, Brendan M Rogers, John Rogan, Dominik Kulakowski
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Emerging hot spot analysis to indicate forest conservation priorities and efficacy on regional to continental scales: a study of forest change in Selva Maya 2000–2020

    Published in Environmental Research Communications
    2022
    Vol. 4
    Issue #7
    Nicholas Cuba, Laura A Sauls, Anthony J Bebbington, Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Avecita Chicchon, Pilar Delpino Marim’on, Oscar Diaz, Susanna Hecht, Susan Kandel, Tracey Osborne, others
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    What makes wildfires destructive in California?

    Published in Fire
    2022
    Vol. 5
    Issue #5
    Alexandra D Syphard, Jon E Keeley, Mike Gough, Mitchell Lazarz, John Rogan
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Historical Urban Tree Canopy Cover Change in Two Post-Industrial Cities

    Published in Environmental Management
    2022
    Marc Healy, John Rogan, Lara Roman, Sabina Nix, Deborah Martin, Nick Geron
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Wildfire Controls on Land Surface Properties in Mixed Conifer and Ponderosa Pine Forests of Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains, Western US

    Published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
    2022
    S Shrestha, Christopher A. Williams, B Rogers, John Rogan, Dominik Kulakowski
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Tracking Trends of Deforestation Dynamics in Belize: The Role of Protected Areas, Agriculture, and Infrastructural Expansion in South Eastern Selva Maya

    Published in Remote Sensing Letters
    2022
    Vol. 13
    Issue #8
    Kasyan Green, John Rogan, Laura Sauls, Nicholas Cuba, Roberta Pennell, Denise Humphreys Bebbington
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Understanding agricultural fire dynamics in the southern Yucatán Peninsular Region using the MODIS (C6) Active Fire product

    Published in Remote Sensing Letters
    2021
    Andrew Pagan, John Rogan, Birgit Schmook, Zachary Christman, Florencia Sangermano
  • Chapters In Books

    Latin American Extractivism: Dependency, Resource Nationalism, and Resistance in Broad Perspective
    Chapter: Socio-environmental conflict, political settlements and the governance of extractivism: a cross-border comparison, El Salvador and Honduras

    2021
    Anthony J. Bebbington, Benjamin Fash, John Rogan
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Modeling the spatial distribution of the current and future ecosystem services of urban tree planting in Chicopee and Fall River, Massachusetts

    Published in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
    2021
    Rowan Moody, Nicholas Geron, Marc Healy, John Rogan, Deborah Martin
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    ‘Tradescapes’ in the forest: framing infrastructure’s relation to territory, commodities, and flows

    Published in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
    2021
    Pilar Delpino Marimón, Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Anthony J. Bebbington, John Rogan, Laura Sauls, Nicholas Cuba, Avecita Chicchon, Susanna Hecht, Rebecca Ray, Oscar Diaz, Susan Kandel, Tracey Osborne, Madelyn Rivera, Viviana Zalles
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    A Near-Real-Time Approach for Monitoring Forest Disturbance Using Landsat Time Series: Stochastic Continuous Change Detection

    Published in Remote Sensing of Environment
    2021
    Su Ye, John Rogan, Zhe Zhu, Ronald Eastman
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Thirty years of forest-cover change in Western Rwanda during periods of wars and environmental policy shifts

    Published in Regional Environmental Change
    2021
    Vol. 21
    Issue #2
    Bernadette Arakwiye, John Rogan, J. Ronald Eastman
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Priorities for governing large-scale infrastructure in the tropics

    Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
    December
    2020
    Vol. 117
    Issue #36
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Mapping land surface temperature variability across the urban gradient in Worcester, Massachusetts using in-situ thermochrons and Landsat-8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data

    Published in Giscience and Remote Sensing
    October
    2020
    Arthur Elmes, Healy Marc, Nicholas Geron, Michelle Andrews, John Rogan, Deborah Martin, Florencia Sangermano, Christopher Williams, Benjamin Weil
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Land ownership impacts post-wildfire forest regeneration in Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests

    Published in Forest Ecology and Management
    2020
    Vol. 468
    Connor Stephens, Brandon Collins, John Rogan
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Drought Impacts on Australian Vegetation During the Millennium Drought Measured With Multisource Spaceborne Remote Sensing

    Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
    2020
    Vol. 125 (2)
    Issue #e2019JG005145
    Tong Jiao, Christopher Williams, John Rogan, MG De Kauwe, BE Medlyn
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Accounting for Training Data Error in Machine Learning Applied to Earth Observations

    Published in Remote Sensing
    2020
    Vol. 12
    Issue #6
    Arthur Elmes, Sayed Alemohammad, Ryan Avery, Kelly Caylor, Ronald Eastman, Lewis Fishgold, Mark Friedl, Meha Jain, Divyani Kohli, Juan Carlos Laso Bayas, Dalton Lunga, Jessica McCarty, Robert Pontius, Andrew Reinmann, John Rogan, Lei Song, Hristiana Stoynova, Su Ye, Zhuang-Fang Yi, Lyndon Estes
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    Measuring and categorizing the water-related downstream risks associated with mineral extraction in Honduras: How severe, and how distributed?

    Published in Applied Geography
    2019
    Vol. 111
    Nicholas Cuba, Benjamin Fash, John Rogan, Anam Khan, José-Luis Palma Herrera, Rafael Enrique Corrales Andino, Claudia Nataly Mondragón Rivera, Sara Martinez, Scott Sellwood
  • Article in Refereed Journal

    A Relational Theory of Risk: a Case Study of the Asian Longhorned Beetle Infestation in Worcester, MA

    Published in Journal of Risk Research
    2019
    Joey Hersh, Deborah Martin, Nicholas Geron, John Rogan

Awards and grants

  • Consecutive detection and characterization of fine-scale land change over highly dynamic landscapes: a case study on coastal wetlands

    NASA

    clock icon Aug. 1, 2024 – Aug. 5, 2026
  • Planting Resilient Riparian Forests for Water Supply and Public Health in Under-Served RI Communities

    US Forest Service

    clock icon Jun. 30, 2022 – Jun. 30, 2024
  • Multitemporal analysis and determination of mangrive cover in the coastal region of Ecuador (1999-2022)

    Sustainable Shrimp (Camara Nacional de Acuacultura Ecuador)

    clock icon Dec. 4, 2023 – May. 31, 2024
  • Urban Greenspace and Air Quality: Demonstrating the positive influence of the Hadwen Arboretum on Local Air Quality

    Clark University

    clock icon Jun. 1, 2021 – Jun. 1, 2022
  • Planting Trees for Improved Community Health in Two Small Low-Income Cities

    USDA

    clock icon Jan. 15, 2020 – May. 24, 2021
  • Assessing urban heat island effects in the Clark University Hadwen Arboretum

    Clark University

    clock icon May. 1, 2020 – May. 3, 2021