Adler Santana de Medeiros
Geography PGR student
as2026@exeter.ac.uk
Laver Building 7th floor, desk 2
Laver Building, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK
Overview
I am an Ecologist, specialist in Interdisciplinary Environmental Education, Master in Agronomy, Ecological Restoration practitioner and PhD student at department of Physical Geography in the University of Exeter, UK. During my previous experiences, I have been in contact with different methods of ecological restoration of the Caatinga, a seasonally dry tropical forest in northern Brazil. Since my undergraduate and master's studies, I have sought to understand how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil microbiota can be managed to improve the outcomes of the restoration process. I have also worked on ecological restoration in three different projects, such as RE-Habitar Ararinha Azul, São Francisco River Integration and Wind Farm Serra da Babilônia.
Broadly, my interests are related to Restoration Ecology. During my journey in the department, I am investigating how soil microbes are involved in mechanisms of plant biological invasions and seeking for potential applications of them in the process of ecological restoration of abandoned pastures. The project in partnership with Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), has been developed in the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado vegetation), under the supervision of Lucy Rowland, Richard Tennant, Fernanda Vasconcellos Barros and Rafael Oliveira.
Qualifications
2019 - 2021
Masters in Agronomy - Plant production at Federal University of Vale do São Francisco. Supervised by Adriana Mayumi Yano-Melo and Renato Garcia Rodrigues. Dissertation: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities shaped by hostplant affect the outcome of plant-soil feedback in dryland restoration
2018 - 2020
Specialism in Interdisciplinary Environmental Education at Federal University of Vale do São Francisco. Supervised by Maryluce Albuquerque da Silva Campos. Thesis: Geographical distribution of Brazilian environmental education in non-formal spaces.
2012 - 2016
Bachelor in Ecology at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Supervised by Gislene Ganade. Thesis: Ecological restoration methods influence the structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in degraded drylands
Links
Research
Research interests
Nature-based solutions, Ecological Restoration, Plant-Soil Feedback, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Applications, Soil Microbiology.
