We are pleased to announce that Dr Erola Fenollosa has recently been awarded the John L. Harper award from the British Ecological Society (BES). The award recognises early career researchers and enables the BES to support researchers who are investigating the detailed study of plant populations and interactions.
Erola is investigating changes in plant metabolism as a response to physical and chemical disturbance. Her work relies on a global network called DRAGNet (Disturbance and Resources Across Global Grasslands) but Erola is also focusing on Wytham Woods in Oxford where preliminary analyses has revealed changes in the species of the globally important limestone grasslands.
Erola works in a multidisciplinary way, integrating her expertise in plant ecophysiology and quantification with the drone fleet from the SalGo Team along with the Wytham Woods DRAGNet node. Plant stress, productivity, nutrient and light efficiency and more will be determined both in the lab and in the field. Using this mixed approach Erola will be able to determine if plant physiological characteristics can be inferred from drone images and therefore if drones can be used to monitor grasslands response to disturbances. The aim of the research is to provide new tools to monitor ecosystem change.
Many Congratulations to Erola and we wish her well with her ongoing research.
