Rita Sousa Silva
Postdoc
Urban forest biodiversity and resilience
Université du Québec à Montréal
Département des sciences biologiques
141 Président-Kennedy
Montréal QC H2X 3Y5
Advisor: Alain Paquette
Co-advisor: Christian Messier
Email:
Phone: (514) 987-3000 #4866
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services
- Effects of tree species diversity and functional diversity
- Urban forests
- Environmental health
- Science communication
FORMATION
- 2019 - 2021 Postdoctoral fellow at UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
- 2018 - 2019 Postdoctoral fellow at ISFORT (Institut des Sciences de la Fôret Tempérée), UQO (Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada)
- 2014 - 2018 – Ph.D. in Forest Ecology, KU Leuven (Belgium)
- 2012-2014 – Research fellow (M.Sc.) at InBIO/CIBIO (Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Portugal)
- 2012 – M.Sc. in Ecology, Environment and Territory - Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
- 2010 – B.Sc. in Biology - Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
PUBLICATIONS
- Sousa-Silva R, Cameron E, Paquette A. (2021). Prioritizing Street Tree Planting Locations to Increase Benefits for All Citizens: Experience From Joliette, Canada. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
- Messier C, Bauhus J, Sousa‐Silva R, Auge H, Baeten L, Barsoum N, ... & Zemp DC. (2021) For the sake of resilience and multifunctionality, let's diversify planted forests!. Conservation Letters
- Searle EB, Bell FW, Larocque GR, Fortin M, Dacosta J, Sousa-Silva R, ... & Deighton HD. (2021) Simulating the Effects of Intensifying Silviculture on Desired Species Yields across a Broad Environmental Gradient. Forests
- Sousa-Silva R, Smargiassi A, Kneeshaw D, Dupras J, Zinszer K, Paquette A. (2021) Strong variations in urban allergenicity riskscapes due to poor knowledge of tree pollen allergenic potential. Scientific Reports
- Paquette A, Sousa-Silva R, Maure F, Cameron E, Belluau M, Messier C. (2021). Praise for diversity: A functional approach to reduce risks in urban forests. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
- Sousa-Silva R, Smargiassi A, Paquette A, Kaiser D, Kneeshaw D. (2020). Exactly what do we know about tree pollen allergenicity?. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
- Alves C, Sousa-Silva R, Marcos B, Georges D, Lomba Â. (2019). Hoping the best, expecting the worst: forecasting the potential impacts of climate and land-use change on Iberian plants of conservation concern. Plant Ecology & Diversity
- Taugourdeau O, Delagrange S, Lecigne B, Sousa-Silva R, Messier C. (2019). Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) shoot architecture reveals coordinated ontogenetic changes between shoot specialization and branching pattern. Trees - Structure and Function
- Messier C, Bauhus J, Doyon F, Maure F, Sousa-Silva R, Nolet P, Mina M, Aquilué N, Fortin MJ, Puettmann K. (2019). The functional complex network approach to foster forest resilience to global changes. Forest Ecosystems
- Vanhellemont M, Sousa-Silva R, Maes SL, Van den Bulcke J, Hertzog L, De Groote SRE, Van Acker J, Bonte D, Martel A, Lens L, Verheyen K. (2018). Distinct growth responses to drought for oak and beech in temperate mixed forests. Science of The Total Environment
- Sousa-Silva R, Verheyen K, Ponette Q, Bay E, Sioen G, Titeux H, Van de Peer T, Van Meerbeek K, Muys B. (2018). Tree diversity mitigates defoliation after a drought-induced tipping point. Global Change Biology
- Sousa-Silva R, Verbist B, Lomba Â, Valent P, Suškevičs M, Picard O, Hoogstra-Klein MA, Cosofret V-C, Bouriaud L, Ponette Q, Verheyen K, Muys B. (2018). Adapting forest management to climate change in Europe: Linking perceptions to adaptive responses. Forest Policy and Economics
- Alcaraz-Segura D, Lomba Â, Sousa-Silva R, Nieto-Lugilde D, Alves P, Georges D, Vicente JR, Honrado JP. (2017). Potential of satellite-derived ecosystem functional attributes to anticipate species range shifts. Int J Appl Earth Obs Geoinf
- Carvalho-Santos C, Sousa-Silva R, Goncalves J, Honrado JP. (2016). Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation under forestation scenarios: options to improve management in the Vez watershed, NW Portugal. Regional Environmental Change
- De Wandeler H, Sousa-Silva R, Ampoorter E, Bruelheide H, Carnol M, Dawud SM, Danila G, Finer L, Hättenschwiler S, Hermy M, Jaroszewicz B, Joly F-X, Müller S, Pollastrini M, Ratcliffe S, Raulund-Rasmussen K, Selvi F, Valladares F, Van Meerbeek K, Verheyen K, Vesterdal L, Muys B. (2016). Drivers of earthworm incidence and abundance across European forests. Soil Biology and Biochemistry
- Gonçalves J, Henriques R, Alves P, Sousa-Silva R, Monteiro AT, Lomba Â, Marcos B, Honrado JP. (2016). Evaluating an unmanned aerial vehicle-based approach for assessing habitat extent and condition in fine-scale early successional mountain mosaics. Applied Vegetation Science
- Gonçalves J, Alves P, Pôças I, Marcos B, Sousa-Silva R, Lomba Â, Honrado JP. (2016). Exploring the spatiotemporal dynamics of habitat suitability to improve conservation management of a vulnerable plant species. Biodiversity and Conservation
- Sousa-Silva R, Ponette Q, Verheyen K, Van Herzele A, Muys B. (2016). Adaptation of forest management to climate change as perceived by forest owners and managers in Belgium. Forest Ecosystems
- Sousa-Silva R, Alves P, Honrado JP, Lomba Â. (2014). Improving the assessment and reporting on rare and endangered species through species distribution models. Global Ecology and Conservation
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
- Sousa-Silva, R. (2018). Adaptation to climate change: the importance of tree diversity for the resilience of forest ecosystems. PhD thesis . KU Leuven, Belgium. Advisors: Prof. Bart Muys and Prof. Kris Verheyen.
- Sousa-Silva, R. (2012). Using predictive models to improve the reporting on rare endangered species. MSc thesis . Universidade do Porto, Portugal. Advisors: Prof. João P. Honrado and Dr. Ângela Lomba.
