Dr Caroline Lehmann, Taxonomy and Macroecology Lead
Professor Caroline Lehmann, Taxonomy and Macroecology Lead
I am jointly appointed between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and University of Edinburgh. At RBGE, I lead the Taxonomy and Macroecology section. At the University of Edinburgh, I am Professor and Personal Chair in Plant ecology and biogeography, teaching on the undergraduate Geography programme in the School of GeoSciences. Additionally, I hold an adjunct position with the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.
My research is organised around:
Ecology and biogeography of grasslands and savannas: My research examines how and why vegetation structure and dynamics change across ecological settings in the tropics and the ecosystem-level and biome-level consequences of these changes. I sit on the IUCN Global Ecology Typology scientific committee. Much of my field research time is focused on the Global Grassy Group, a collective effort seeking to facilitate standardised data collection of herbaceous plants.
Global change impacts on grassland and savanna ecosystems: The future of savannas and grasslands is uncertain due to increasing woody encroachment. Encroachment contrasts with traditional views of ecosystem degradation focused on tree loss in forests. Global environmental change, defaunation, changing fire regimes, and intensified human use are accelerating encroachment, but the understanding of impacts remains poor.
Understanding savanna plant diversity: My research focusing on the herbaceous floras particularly of southern Africa, Madagascar and Asia seeks to move beyond the traditional tree and grass focus of savanna ecology. Trees and grasses represent ~20-30% of plant diversity in these ecosystems and biases in floristic sampling can lead to misinterpretations of ecosystem dynamics particularly in the rapid push for NetZero and global restoration agendas.
Transdisciplinary fire management: Fire patterns in grasslands and savannas are changing rapidly, with declines in these areas and increases in forests across the tropics. While fire can pose threats to biodiversity and local communities, these issues often stem from unaddressed factors like changing human use, poverty, climate change, and invasive species. Current fire management strategies across regions such as Madagascar, often driven by external funding and a "one-size-fits-all" approach, tends to overlook unique contexts and local needs.
The FunkyBio (aka functional biogeography) research group collaborates closely with scientists across regions, and our lab members span the UK, South Africa, Brazil and Madagascar.
Current FunkyBio postdocs, students and staff
Dr Adam Devenish (2022 - )
Anya Courtenay, Data manager Global Grassy Group (2022 - )
Toby Mills, Sibbald Research Fellow (2024 – 2025)
Susan Eshelman, University of Edinburgh PhD student (2020 – 2025)
Elliot Fisher, University of Edinburgh PhD student (2021 – 2025)
Jakub Wieczorkowski, University of Edinburgh PhD student (2022 – 2026)
Ludwig Baldastzi, University of Edinburgh PhD student (2022 – 2026)
Elielson Lucas Ferreira, Universidade Federal do Paraná-UFPR (2023 – 2026)
Olinirina (Nanja) Nanjarisoa, University of Antananarivo PhD student (2024 – 2027)
Tshering Dorji, University of Edinburgh PhD student (2024 – 2028)
Juan Pablo Benavides-Tocarruncho, University of Exeter PhD student (2024 – 2028)
Aksha Chowdhary, University of Edinburgh PhD student (2025 – 2029)