Research Overview

Research in the Edwards Lab focuses at the nexus of biodiversity conservation, tropical land-use and climate change, and environmental economics. We use rigorous field assessment to understand how land-use and climate change impacts biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.  Our research reveals the conservation value of degraded tropical forests and informs the development of more sustainable practices. We incorporate environmental economics and policy frameworks to identify cost-effective solutions to key drivers of the global biodiversity extinction crisis.

Our research spans a plethora of land-use changes, including selective logging, the conversion of forest  to oil palm, rubber and cattle pastures, forest fragmentation, and the recovery of secondary forests on abandoned farmland. Current research projects focus on the Tropical Andes, Amazon, Brazilian Atlantic forest, Himalaya, African forest-savanna transition zone, and Borneo.