Dr Ellen Heimpel

I am a Research Associate at the University of Edinburgh, currently working on a collaborative project with the University of Cambridge on restoration in African savannas and woodlands. My research interests include understanding the responses of African woodlands to environmental change, the conservation and management of ecosystems, and the impact of deforestation and restoration on local communities.

My background is in ecology and botany. I have recently completed my PhD at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which focused on monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei rainforests in the Congo Basin. These are forest stands where up to 80% of the trees belong to a single species, overturning stereotypes of plant diversity in the tropics. I used floristic inventories, herbarium specimens, remote sensing, and functional trait data to increase our understanding of the diversity and distribution of this forest type across the western Congo Basin. I have extensive fieldwork experience in the Republic of Congo, and curatorial experience at the Kew Gardens herbarium. I am especially interested in integrating ecological and taxonomic approaches, with a focus on how herbarium collections can inform ecological research and conservation strategies.