Siew Chin Chua

Graduate Student

Research Description

Trees are fundamental to tropical rain forests and very often ecological related questions require knowledge of plant species identity. And since many forest trees flower infrequently, identifying plants from only leaf specimens is quite common. This is indeed a challenge!

Examining ecosystem functions in regenerating tropical rainforests

Going beyond knowing what species there are in the forests, we need to know how altered tree communities in regenerating forests affect the functioning of ecosystems. How do different functional traits of secondary forest tree species scale up and what are the effects on ecosystem functions? In particular, I am interested in plant nutrient conservation traits and the potential feedback on the environment and forest regeneration.