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February 2021
Woody encroachment as a symptom of global change
A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Dr Nicola Stevens, Trapnell Fellow for African Environments, ECI, University of Oxford Contrary to the idea that more trees are good, vast expanses of tropical ecosystems are facing extensive land degradation caused by woody encroachment, where the native tree cover is increasing. Whilst encroachment is occurring rapidly, the pace of change is often just slow enough for us to not recognise the change, leaving us at risk of…
Find out more »‘Green Deserts’ to ‘Forests of Plenty’: An Archaeology of Tropical Forests
A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Dr Patrick Roberts, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History / The University of Queensland Difficult working conditions, poor preservation, and environmental determinism have seen tropical forests traditionally framed as ‘blanks’ on the map of human history – avoided by human societies until industrialized extraction led them to become some of the most threatened land-based environments on Earth in the 21st century. Here, Patrick highlights how…
Find out more »Frugivory and seed dispersal: insights from Madagascar’s biodiverse ecosystems
A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Prof Onja Razafindratsima, UC Berkeley Many plant species rely on animal frugivores to disperse their seeds. Understanding the value of frugivore-mediated seed dispersal depends upon comprehending the interaction between animals’ foraging behaviors and the patterns of seed dispersal services they provide. My research seeks to provide new insights to such an objective by focusing on the roles and impacts of nonrandom seed dispersal by lemur frugivores in biodiverse…
Find out more »March 2021
Just add water: structure and function of seasonally dry tropical forests
A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Prof Jennifer Powers, University of Minnesota Tropical dry forests are characterized by lower rainfall compared to tropical rain forests and a dry season that can last for many months. In this talk, Jennifer will explore how rainfall regimes have shaped the diversity and function of plants in these forests, using plants from the liana lifeform and legume family as examples. She will then discuss how tropical dry forests…
Find out more »Puzzle pieces or poker chips? What people bring to the table in “multistakeholder” processes
Photo: Harold Palacios - Participants in participatory prospective scenario workshop in Loreto, Perú A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Dr Anne Larson, CIFOR-ICRAF There is nothing particularly new about the idea of supporting participatory processes to address conservation, sustainable development or climate initiatives. But there is a new risk, as the need for “transformational change” pulls in two directions. On the one hand, addressing land use change in light of the climate crisis is…
Find out more »Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO2
Image: Victor Leshyk (Twitter: @victorleshyk ) A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Dr Anthony Walker, Oak Ridge National Laboratory CO2-stimulation of the terrestrial carbon sink is a global-scale ecosystem service that is buying us time in the fight against climate change. But what is the magnitude of this effect, and how will it change into the future? These major questions in global ecology have stimulated a vast body of cross-disciplinary research that can be…
Find out more »Hyperdominance and hyperdiversity in the Amazon Tree Flora
A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Prof Dr Hans ter Steege, Naturalis With over 5.5 million km2, the Amazon is one of the largest natural ecosystems in our world. The area hosts vast diversity and is also a large carbon store. Recent work showed that while 16,000 species of trees may inhabit the area, just 227 (1.4%) of them contribute 50% of all individuals. Over 11,000 (62%) species have population sizes less than 1…
Find out more »April 2021
Transparency and sustainability in global supply chains
A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Toby Gardner, Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute / Director of Trase Globally traded agricultural commodities such as beef, soy and palm oil are major drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. Making these supply chains and their impacts more transparent is key to improving the sustainability of global trade and consumption. Toby will draw on the work of the ground-breaking Transparency for Sustainable Economies initiative - www.trase.earth…
Find out more »Reforestation as a natural climate solution
Photo: © Ka Lok Wong /TNC Photo Contest 2018 A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Susan Cook-Patton, PhD, Senior Forest Restoration Scientist on the Natural Climate Solutions Science Team, The Nature Conservancy Global momentum is growing for reforestation. Restoring tree cover across the globe has the potential to capture substantial carbon, while offering many important benefits such as clean air, clean water, improved livelihoods, and habitat for biodiversity. However, the mitigation potential of reforestation, as…
Find out more »May 2021
Taking the temperature and measuring health status of endangered and threatened rainforest – Is it serious Doc?
A recording of this online seminar is available to view HERE Speaker: Prof Pierre-Michel Forget, Professor of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) and Deputy Director of the Research Unit (“Adaptative Mechanism and Evolution”) Tropical ecologists study ecosystem dynamics and recruitment aiming at understanding how high diversity is maintained via diaspore dispersal away from adults, often by animals. With increased threats on rainforests, the diversity of both large- and medium-sized frugivores is endangered, and plant diversity as well. Despite continuous…
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