Raissa Iana Leite Jardim

About me:

I am a PhD Researcher at the University of Exeter, in the Department of Geography (Physical Geography).

I am a biologist, I undertook my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Brazil, focusing on the community assembly process and functional ecology. During my scientific initiation, I worked with plant ecology, with emphasis on the phenotypic plasticity of woody plants along environmental gradients (light and edaphic gradient). In my bachelor's monography, I evaluate the functional composition of woody species resident of the understory in the Atlantic Forest, assessing how functional redundancy is related to the resilience of the understory layer.

I am M.Sc. in Ecology and Conservation. In my M.Sc. project, I worked with forest-grasslands mosaics in a transition region between the Atlantic Forest (Araucaria Forest) and the Brazil’s megadiverse savannas, the Cerrado. I sought to understand the impact of interruption in fire-vegetation feedback in the encroachment of woody species over grassland ecosystem. Also, I aimed to evaluate the relation of structural change in vegetation due to encroachment, from open to closed conditions, with shifts in species' ecological strategies, considering the above and belowground dimensions of plants.

My PhD research aims to understand the functional composition of native Cerrado species found in pastures, in order to propose nature-based solutions to increase biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services. In addition, I am interested in the belowground structures of Cerrado species and the relationship of these structures to the natural regeneration of pastures. My current research project will improve our knowledge of how to use native plants to achieve more sustainable agriculture and also to better restore pastures by incorporating different plant life history strategies.

I am interested in the following themes: community assembly, plant ecological strategies above and belowground, functional composition and ecological restoration.

2020 to 2023 - Master’s (M.Sc.) in Ecology and Conservation at Federal University of Paraná, Brazil. Supervised by Marcos Carlucci. Project “Shifts in vegetation structure and species ecological strategies: evidence from a temporal assessment of woody plant encroachment over grasslands”.

2016 to 2021 - Bachelor (B.Sc) in Biology at University of Joinville, Brazil. Supervised by Joao Carlos Ferreira de Melo Junior. Project “Functional redundancy of understory resident woody plants of two Atlantic Forest fragments”.