Specialty
I am an ecologist by training, specialized in restoration ecology, functional ecology, specialised on forested ecosystems. My past work has been focused on the Neotropics (Brazil and Peru), mainly on understudied tropical montane ecosystems. My PhD research investigated opportunities and challenges in the restoration of tropical montane forests using an interdisciplinary multi-stakeholder approach.
Against the backdrop of accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss, my primary research interests is investigating how we can best deploy ecological restoration and rewilding to achieve biodiversity, livelihood and climate goals.
I'm interested in effective planning and strategic design of ecosystem restoration and rewilding, and in ways to include people in it through a socio-ecological approach. I focus particulalry on forested ecosystems, such as Ancient Woodlands, Riparian Forests and Urban Woodlands.
My work spans methods from ecological field surveys, qualitative social methods, in situ sensors, eDNA and remote sensing techniques.
Research aims
In this UN Decade on Restoration my research aims to steer the effective implementation and the monitoring of forest and woodland restoration. Some key questions I am researching are:
1) Where do priority areas for woodland restoration lie in the UK?
2) How can forest restoration interventions be designed in a way to boost diversity, resilience and carbon storage?
3) What restoration approaches are most cost-effective and realistic to scale up restoration across landscapes?
