Professor Christine Schmitt and Humboldt fellow Dr João De Deus Vidal Júnior Valentin Brandes, University of Passau
He had rehearsed for the selection interview with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for over a year – and succeeded: Dr. João De Deus Vidal Jr. from Brazil has been in Passau since March 2022. "For me, it’s the best possible scenario for carrying on my ecological research," says the biologist and continues: "Germany is one of the leading countries in climate change research. And I am at a prestigious university surrounded by a very positive environment."
Thanks to the international climate protection fellowship awarded to postdoctoral researchers with climate expertise by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Dr. Vidal will be spending the next two years at the University of Passau creating a database on mountain vegetation of the African continent. Using statistical modelling tools and projections, he will be drawing up a list of vulnerable plants that are important for the conservation of biodiversity. Of all plants, those growing in the mountains offer us a valuable opportunity to understand the influence of climate on the distribution of vegetation: "Mountains are more sensitive to variations in climate, because they have a temperature gradient," says Dr. Vidal. "When the climate changes, you can slowly see the plants shifting up and down.“
Before heading for Germany, Dr. Vidal had earned a PhD in biological sciences at the São Paulo State University “Julio de Mesquita Filho”, Brazil, and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the State University of Campinas researching mangrove forests and their adaption to climate change. In 2019, during a research visit to the University of the Free State in Phuthaditjhaba, South Africa, his research included the study of endemic plants in African mountain regions.
Moving from a million-strong city to a small town to gain research expertise
It was Professor Schmitt's expertise that prompted Dr. Vidal to move from million-strong city of Campinas in Brazil to Passau in Lower Bavaria. "It is also a great sign of appreciation for the university that Dr. Vidal has chosen Professor Schmitt as host. His research on biodiversity will enrich the just established research forum in the Sustainability Hub and open up international interfaces," says Professor Werner Gamerith, the University Executive's Commissioner for Quality Assurance and System Accreditation.
"What an immense pleasure to have Dr. Vidal as a colleague researching biodiversity. This is a topic that is also close to my heart," says Professor Schmitt. "Climate change is definitely having a major impact on African mountain regions, and we hope to gain valuable new insights through this project."
Professor Schmitt has held the Chair of Physical Geography with a focus on Human-Environment Research at the University of Passau since April 2021. She studied landscape ecology with a focus on vegetation geography and has experience as a consultant providing policy support. In her research, she is looking to answer the question of how climate change and changes in land use affect the biodiversity and ecosystem services of tropical and temperate forests and forest landscapes. Data from her research projects in Kenya and Ethiopia were used in a broad-based study conducted for the scientific journal "Nature" which determined that tropical African mountain forests store more carbon than previously thought.
Contact for scientific information:
Professor Christine Schmitt
Innstraße 40,
University of Passau
Christine.Schmitt@uni-passau.de
