Can plantations act as successional catalysts that move degraded landscapes along the rehabilitation–restoration continuum? How do management practices across the Neotropical, Afrotropical, and Indomalayan regions shape species diversity, functional diversity, and ecosystem services? And how can these ecological outcomes be integrated into carbon markets, biodiversity credits, and policy frameworks? By addressing these questions through fieldwork, comparative analyses, and ecological theory, my research reframes plantations as multifunctional landscapes that can contribute to restoration, climate mitigation, and biodiversity conservation.

Plantations as successional catalysts

I investigate how commercial plantations can be repositioned as active agents of forest restoration. By analyzing how governance and management practices, from industrial timber operations to smallholder systems, shape ecological outcomes, I evaluate plantations as part of the rehabilitation–restoration continuum. This work reframes plantations from narrow production-oriented systems into multifunctional landscapes that deliver biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem services.

Species and functional diversity across global managed forests

Working across the Neotropical, Afrotropical, and Indomalayan floristic regions, I use species inventories and functional trait analyses to assess how management regimes influence regeneration, community composition, and ecosystem functioning. This cross-regional approach advances our understanding of biodiversity–function relationships while generating applied insights into the restoration potential of managed forests and the development of broadly applicable frameworks for restoration forestry.

Linking ecology with policy

My work connects empirical ecological research to emerging environmental markets, including carbon offsets, biodiversity credits, and payment for ecosystem services. By grounding market mechanisms in ecological realities, I aim to ensure that plantations contribute measurable biodiversity and climate benefits. This applied dimension aligns scientific research with policy and landowner incentives, offering scalable pathways for global environmental restoration.

This research has been supported by major funding bodies including the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et Technologies (FRQNT), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Yale University, and the New York Botanical Garden. Additional support has come from the American Philosophical Association, the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, the SHASTRI Indo-Canadian Institute, and Concordia University.