Ecologist Malhi to present tropical forest research in South Africa — Daily Maverick
Professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of Oxford Yadvinder Malhi will present his tropical forest research at the Oppenheimer Research Conference in Midrand, South Africa, running from 7 to 9 October. The scientist studies the interactions among forests, animals, people and climate, including the ability of large forest areas to absorb carbon dioxide.
As Daily Maverick reports, Malhi began in physics and planned to pursue astronomy, but during geology field classes decided to move into environmental research. While working in Niger, he collected data on water movement through crops and natural vegetation in the Sahel, studying the possible impact of land-use changes on droughts.
Amazon research
In 1995, Malhi first arrived in Brazil to work in the Amazon. Together with colleagues, he developed a network of forest research plots in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia, compiling data on tree biomass. In 1998, the group published results in the journal Science indicating that mature Amazon forests were increasing biomass and absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
According to Malhi, long-term observations showed a weakening of the Amazon’s capacity due to the drying of the region and more frequent droughts. He noted that the forest remains a carbon sink, but its capacity has been halved. A 2020 Nature study using statistical modelling projected that the Amazon’s ability to absorb carbon could decline to zero by 2035.
African forests and the role of animals
After moving to Ghana in 2009, Malhi expanded his research to West Africa, Gabon, the Congo Basin, and the savannas of eastern and southern parts of the continent. Data from 244 African forest plots in 11 countries and 321 plots in the Amazon showed that the African carbon sink remained stable for three decades until 2015. At the same time, modelling projected a 14% decline by 2030 compared with 2010–2015 levels.
The researcher also stresses that animals actively shape ecosystems. In particular, forest elephants disperse seeds by eating fruit and moving through tropical forests. Malhi advocates conservation models in which people and wildlife coexist in so-called mosaic landscapes, and also criticises “parachute science” — research without long-term local partnerships.
