Julia Tavares awarded scholarship from the Stiftelsen Konung Carl XVI Gustafs 50-årsfond för veten­skap, teknik och miljö

(Image removed) Dr Julia Tavares receives award from His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf. Photo: Jonas Borg

Julia is currently co-leading a research project funded by the National Geographic Society, investigating how the Amazon's lesser-known floodplain forests are affected by ongoing climate change.. She recently led a field campaign during the rainy season in the Amazonian wetlands, where she measured physiological characteristics of wetland trees across a flooding gradient for the first time. Julia will use the scholarship to travel back to the Amazon and conduct a complementary field campaign during the dry season, which is an important step in being able to predict the responses of floodplain forests to climate change. Julia's work also involves collaboration with Brazilian colleagues, which will strengthen connections between Swedish and Brazilian research institutions. The award was conferred by the His Majesty the King at a reception at the Royal castle on 29 May.

(Image removed) The Amazon River. Photo: Francisco Diniz

Julia also led a study recently published on Nature. This research identified regions in the Amazon Forest most at risk from drier conditions and that different Amazonian forests have different abilities to cope with changes in climate and future droughts. The research also revealed that tree physiological characteristics are related to carbon balance of Amazonian forests. This study is a results of Julia’s PhD thesis at the University of Leeds and a collaborative effort of 80 researches from South America and Europe.

(Image removed) Top canopy of the Amazon forest in Peru. Photo: Francisco Diniz