Dr Adriana Vega Grau is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Tropical Forests and People Research Centre, Forest Research Institute. She has a PhD in Ecohydrology from The University of Queensland and a background in tropical ecology (MSc- Erasmus Mundus) and in environmental science (BSc) from the Universidad de Puerto Rico- Rio Piedras.
Currently, her research aims to combine stable water isotopes and remote sensing technologies to study below ground and above ground processes and ecological dynamics at landscape-level that may help improve forest restoration efforts and carbon sequestration. As part of this, she will investigate functional trait models that may influence trade-offs in tree growth, survival and water use across species and site contexts.
For her PhD, Adriana studied stable water isotopes and plant traits to provide a more holistic ecological interpretation of tropical tree water use and how it may be influenced by traits in response to environmental conditions. Previously, Adriana worked with invasive earthworms, land cover change, forest regeneration and soil nutrient cycling in projects across Puerto Rico, China, Peru, France, Belgium, and USA, and has given environmental education workshops at schools and written for science textbooks.
Awards/Fellowships
- Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia Student Competition Winner, 2021
- Skyrail Rainforest Foundation Student Research Project Fund, 2020
- School of Agriculture and Food Science,The University of Queensland- Student Travel grant, 2020
- Wet Tropics Management Authority Student Research Grant, 2019
- RTP The University of Queensland, 2018
- ERASMUS MUNDUS MASTER COURSE Scholarship Category A, 2013-2015
- US National Science Foundation International REU Grant, 2011
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Research areas
- tropical forest ecology
- ecohydrology
- ecological dynamics in forest restoration
- Implications of functional traits, trade-offs and environmental responses for carbon sequestration