Professor Robert Freckleton

I am an ecologist who has worked on forest ecology for nearly 30 years. Previously, my research has looked at the impacts of harvesting on a variety of forest species, including edible palms and brazil nuts, revealing dangers of overexploitation for long-term viability of populations.  My work also explored the drivers of diversity in tropical forests, and looking forward I am keen to explore how the mechanisms that drive diversity have changed in human-altered forests.  I am also investigating the role of climber cutting in rainforest restoration programmes for carbon stocking, timber yields, and biodiversity, having co-led a research team in developing a replicated climber-cutting experiment in the heavily logged forests of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.