Douglas Sheil

Prof. Douglas Sheil is a Chairholder in Forest Ecology and Forest Management at Wageningen University & Research. He holds a MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge and an MSc in Forestry from Oxford. His career includes roles at the University of Oxford, CIFOR (Indonesia), the Institute for Tropical Forest Conservation in Uganda, and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). His research focuses on tropical forest ecology, biodiversity conservation, and human-forest interactions, with over 200 publications. He co-authored the influential textbook Tropical Rain Forests: Ecology, Diversity, and Conservation (2010). Awards include the Biotropica Prize (2004) and the Queen’s Award for Forestry (2015).

• Education: MA (Natural Sciences, Cambridge), MSc (Forestry, Oxford)
• Key Roles: Director of Institute for Tropical Forest Conservation (2008–2012), Professor at NMBU (2013–2020)

Research Interests: Tropical forest dynamics, climate change impacts, conservation strategies, and the socio-ecological dimensions of forest management. His work spans field studies in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to address deforestation, biodiversity loss, and sustainable land use.

Recent Trends in Articles: Focus on mycorrhizal networks, oil palm impacts, lightning disturbance, and mammal population responses to human activity. He explores mechanisms linking forest structure to ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and water regulation, often integrating remote sensing and global datasets.

• Awards: Biotropica Prize, Queen’s Award for Forestry
• Grants/Projects: Studies on lightning effects in African forests, camera trap mammal surveys, and policy analyses for vegetable oil sustainability.

Labs/Teams: Leads interdisciplinary groups at Wageningen, collaborating with CIFOR and international networks. Active in IUCN committees to translate science into conservation policy.