Jess Rickenback
-
Jess Rickenback, PhD candidate
I am a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. My research focuses on the ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary history of high rainfall savannas.
These savanna ecosystems span 800 - 2000 mm annual rainfall across the seasonally dry tropics. Often misclassified as degraded forests, these diverse ecosystems are vulnerable to policies of afforestation and fire suppression. Over my PhD, I aim to develop a new understanding of the ecology and biogeography of high rainfall savannas focusing on Africa and Asia, with fieldwork in little studied regions of Cambodia and Mozambique. I will combine investigations of ground layer plant species diversity focusing on grasses and forbs to understand how variation in overstory vegetation structure (ie. tree density and size) aligns with ground layer diversity where different groups of ground layer species can be common, e.g. grasses, N fixing forbs, and underground trees. I will examine whether savannas from different biogeographic regions with structural similarity show similar patterns of ground layer diversity to determine the resilience of these ecosystems to structural change.
Supervisors: Dr. Caroline Lehmann (University of Edinburgh), Prof. Toby Pennington (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh), and Associate Prof. Sally Archibald (University of Witswatersrand).
-
Discover more
- Dr Mark Watson
- Dr Bhaskar Adhikari, Flora of Nepal Researcher
- Dr Roger Hyam, Biodiversity Data Systems Developer
- Dr Henry Noltie, Research Associate
- Dr Colin Pendry, Editor of Flora of Nepal
- Dr Alan Elliott, bioinformatician
- Claire Banks, Botanical Illustrator
- Dr Gail Stott, CMEP Researcher
- Dr Caroline Lehmann, Head of Tropical Diversity
- Dr Hannah Atkins
- Dr Mark Hughes
- Dr Catherine Kidner
- Dr Michael Möller
- Dr James Richardson
- Dr Louis Ronse De Craene
- Dr Tiina Sarkinen
- Dr Peter Wilkie
- Dr Mark Newman
- Dr Zoe Goodwin
- Dr Peter Moonlight
- Dr Kanae Nishii
- Sanna Olander
- Madhavi Sreenath
- Thibauld Michel
- Elliot Convery-Fisher, PhD Candidate
- Briggitthe Melchor Castro
Botanics Recommends
-
Explore our range of unique gifts and more. Every purchase supports the Garden.
-
Explore our unique venues, suitable for every occasion
-
Discover a range of books inspired by the RBGE's work and collections
-
Cultivate your curiosity with our programme of courses for all ages and interests.