About | Cara Rockwell | Florida International University | FIU
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Cara Rockwell

Research Assistant Professor
Institute of Environment
International Center for Tropical Botany
Department of Earth and Environment

About

Cara has worked in the Neotropics for more than 15 years, collaborating closely with community forest managers and local NGO and government representatives to develop sustainable forest management strategies. She first pursued this interest as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1998-2002, where she worked with rural communities in Paraguay to improve soil conservation and reforestation efforts. Her Master’s and doctoral research projects were conducted in the Brazilian state of Acre, where she investigated the ecological impacts of timber harvesting on bamboo-dominated forest stands, including forest restoration through post-harvest silvicultural techniques. Post graduation, she worked with the Center for International Forestry Research to investigate the optimization of timber and non-timber forest product harvesting in Madre de Dios, Peru.

 

Currently, Cara’s research is focused on forest management and urban agriculture in the Caribbean region, where she is studying ecosystem services and food security in urban food forests, as well as recovery of native forest ecosystems post-disturbance. Her field sites include the cypress strands of Big Cypress National Preserve, the coastal hammock forests of Everglades National Park, the pineyards of The Bahamas, and private and public urban greenspace around the State of Florida.

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