Advanced Modelling For Better Conservation Of Neotropical Cloud Forests – Dr Eileen Helmer, International Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Neotropical cloud forests and páramo to contract and dry from declines in cloud immersion and frost’, from PLOS One: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213155
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About this episode
Climate change and deforestation threaten many valuable ecosystems across the globe. Of these, Neotropical cloud forests and alpine páramo represent biodiversity hotspots, with many species unique to these areas. Conventional climate models use scales too large to adequately assess potential impacts on cloud forests. Through their research, Dr Eileen Helmer from the International Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico and her team are overcoming these limitations by producing a robust model that combines relative humidity, frost, and watershed elevation to predict climate change impacts on cloud forests and inform conservation efforts.
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