RG (Rens) Brouwer MSc

RG (Rens) Brouwer MSc

Promovendus

I'm an internationally oriented ecologist with a passion for the tropics, forests and working with local stakeholders. My overall interest lies in ecological research and in translating scientific knowledge to practical forest management measures. I obtained my BSc degree at VHL University of Applied Sciences in Forest and Nature Management with a specialization in Tropical Forestry. During my Bachelor’s I did research in Costa Rica and Singapore, both studies were on plant functional traits.  In 2018 I obtained my MSc degree in Forest and Nature Conservation from Wageningen University. I did my thesis on Brazil nut enrichment planting practices in Peru, where I linked tree and plantation management to tree growth and survival.

After my studies I worked as a research officer at the tropical forests & oil palm research group of VHL University of Applied Sciences. I also worked as an independent consultant, mainly on policy analysis of global forest landscape restoration initiatives.

As of September 2019, I’m working on forest restoration in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil as part of the NewFor project in collaboration with the University of Sao Paulo. Forest restoration is gaining momentum in this heavily degraded and fragmented forest area, but also globally the potential of forest restoration is being recognized as a solution to increase landscape resilience. With my research I aim to explore the potential of restored forests to recover key ecosystem services. I use a trait-based approach to study the effect of structural and functional diversity of multiple forest restoration methods on ecosystem functions and processes such as carbon sequestration, water infiltration, and nutrient cycling.