Gabriela Brasci Berro

Gabriela Brasci Berro is conducting a Ph.D. in Ecology by the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) starting in 2021 within the Plant Functional Ecology of CE3C. She is leading the project "Small but essential: understanding water dynamics and moisture storage by non-vascular epiphytes in the Atlantic Forest", under the supervision of Cristina Antunes and Cristina Máguas at CIÊNCIAS, as part of her Ph.D project "Investigating the role of non-vascular epiphytes in ecosystem functioning in an Atlantic Forest altitudinal gradient", under the supervision of Simone Vieira (UNICAMP) and Carlos Joly (UNICAMP) in Brazil. The main objective of the project is understanding the role of non-vascular epiphytes in the tropical forest dynamics, considering the climate change scenario. The specific aims are i) Determining whether and how the biomass of non-vascular epiphytes in the Atlantic Forest will respond to climate change; ii) Assessing the contribution of non-vascular epiphytes to nutrient cycling, especially nitrogen and phosphorus; iii) Understanding the importance of different water sources in the potential water storage of non-vascular epiphytes and their role in the system water dynamics and hydric state of tropical forests and iv) Investigating the role of non-vascular epiphytes as sources of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs).