Paulo Brando

Paulo Brando is an Associate Professor at the Yale School of the Environment (The Forest School), specializing in ecosystem ecology and natural climate solutions. His research focuses on ecological thresholds, climatological boundaries for tropical agriculture, and sustainable land management in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. He employs field studies, remote sensing, and ecological modeling to address climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.

Education: PhD in Interdisciplinary Ecology (University of Florida), BA in Forest Engineering (University of São Paulo).

Research Interests: Quantifying vulnerability of tropical ecosystems to global changes, fire- and drought-driven forest degradation, and solutions for feeding the planet while preserving ecosystems. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration with NGOs like WoodwellClimate and IPAM to translate science into policy.

Grants & Projects: Supported by NSF, NASA, and FAPESP, focusing on topics like forest-edge dynamics, agricultural intensification, and carbon cycling legacies of disturbances. Current grants include studies on fire regimes, water-energy balances in agroecosystems, and biodiversity conservation in fragmented landscapes.

Labs & Teams: Leads the ECOSTRESS Lab, which integrates fieldwork, remote sensing, and modeling. Collaborates with postdocs, PhD students, and research associates on projects ranging from plant ecophysiology to policy advocacy. Notable team members include Leandro Maracahipes (plant ecologist) and David Herrera Ramirez (plant ecophysiologist).