Tropical Diversity
Plant species diversity is massively biased towards the tropics, for example the rainforests of Amazonia are thought to contain around 7,000 native tree species - more than 100 times the number in the UK. In addition, the value of tropical dry forests, grasslands and savannas is often under-appreciated in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
RBGE's Tropical team focuses on describing this mega-diversity, researching its evolution and drivers, and determining how best to conserve it.
Researchers
Dr Caroline Lehmann, Head of Tropical Diversity
Postdoctoral research fellows
Dr Leanne Phelps
Dr Rowan Schley
Research assistants
Jakub Wieczorkowski
PhD and Masters students
Susan Eshelman PhD
Cynthia Fan PhD
Elliot Fisher PhD
Kelly Gonzalez PhD
Ramos Gustavo PhD
Charlie Miller PhD
Aireen Phang PhD
Jess Rickenback PhD
Madhavi Sreenath PhD
Lizzie Telford PhD
Lucy Turnbull PhD
Junru Wang PhD
Research associates based at RBGE
Rebecca Hilgenhof