2013 - 2017 BSc Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Scotland

2017 - 2019 MSc Forest and Nature Conservation (Ecology), Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands

since 2019 PhD Candidate

Ronny (Ron) Rotbarth is a PhD candidate at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. He holds a Bachelor degree in Environmental Science and Ecology from the University of Stirling (Scotland) and a Master degree in Forest and Nature Conservation from Wageningen University. Ron is interested in the response of northern ecosystems to global change. In particular, he studies the resilience and potential shifts of boreal forests in the face of climate change and increased disturbances. His research uses (1) satellite and aerial images to analyse global and continental boreal forest change and (2) fieldwork data from the mountain birch forests in northern Norway to evaluate the recovery potential of these forests following mass insect outbreaks. His experiences include field data collection from northern ecosystems (north-eastern Siberian tundra and Norwegian boreal forests), machine learning methods, analyses of satellite images and mathematical models. Ron’s long-term objective is to see his research inform management and policy decisions to increase the resilience of socio-ecological systems to future challenges. He is also interested in exploring ways to communicate scientific output to a wider audience.

The resilience of boreal forests to climate change impacts and perturbations

Boreal regions have warmed twice as much as the global average. As a result, disturbances (e.g. insect outbreaks, droughts, and wildfires) have caused large-scale tree mortality and shifts in forest composition. We apply a combination of field observations and satellite data to assess the ability of boreal forests to recover from such disturbances.

This project comprises an international collaboration of researchers from WUR (Milena Holmgren, Marten Scheffer, Egbert van Nes and Ron Rotbarth), the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (Jane Jepsen), and the University of Tromsø (Ole Vindstad).