B (Bianca) Zoletto MSc

I completed both my BSc and MSc degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Padova, Italy. For my bachelor thesis I focused on the conservation of terrestrial orchids, while my master thesis concerned the study of fern communities in Bornean tropical forests.

My project focuses on investigating how lightning and other high voltage electrical phenomena can influence tropical forest ecosystems at different levels of detail, from the single tree to the understanding of the ecological process at regional scale. Recent studies have in fact shown that lightning could represent a fundamental mechanism regulating forest ecosystems, with possible effects on species composition, tree mortality, forest structure and carbon stock.

I will conduct fieldwork mainly in the montane rain forests of Central Africa, where the lightning frequency is one of the highest on hearth, and I will combine a variety of methodological approaches, from the intense and extensive field work to the use of remote sensing, georeferenced data, GIS software, etc.