Doctorante
Cirad Montpellier
CIRAD, UMR Eco&Sols
Campus La Gaillarde Institut Agro - INRAE - Bat 12
2 place Viala - 34060 Montpellier
Email: Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
Research
I am a PhD Candidate combining field data from Brazil’s Atlantic Forest with modeling approaches to understand biodiversity–functioning relationships. I investigate how tree species diversity influences demography, biomass accumulation and carbon dynamics in tropical forest restoration plantings, exploring the links between functional traits, ecosystem processes, and carbon sequestration. I'm under the supervision of Dr. Joannès Guillemot and Dr. Guerric Le Maire.
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=pt-PT&user=rA81kTEAAAAJ
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Claudia-Mendes-24
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiareismendes/
Education
- Master of Science in Biology of Plant Resources (University of Lisbon, 2024)
- Bachelor of Science in Biology, Maastricht Science Programme (Maastricht University, 2024)
Experience in research and cooperation
September 2018 – January 2019 Research Intern, Centre of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, University of Lisbon (Portugal)
Investigated the germination and physiological development of autochthonous Portuguese plant species with phytoremediation potential in contaminated mine soils, as part of my bachelor thesis.
October 2020 – May 2022 Research Assistant, Centre of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, University of Lisbon (Portugal)
Evaluated ecological restoration success of a quarry in Arrábida Natural Park (Portugal). Conducted field sampling of flora and soil, species identification and functional trait analysis in R; processed satellite imagery and calculated remote sensing indices; modelled ecosystem services and ecological variables using field and remote sensing data; produced ecosystem service maps in ArcGIS and contributed to adaptive ecosystem management strategies and scientific outputs.April 2023 – August 2023 Scientific Trainee, Joint Research Centre (European Commission), Ispra (Italy)
Contributed to a research project assessing the impacts of farming practices on biodiversity. Developed a Python algorithm to automatically extract study area coordinates from meta-analyses and produced spatial evidence maps using GIS tools.
April 2024 – August 2025 Research Engineer, University Paris-Saclay – INRAE (France)
Evaluated the performance of statistical and machine learning methods to estimate the causal impact of climate change-related weather extremes (droughts and cold waves) on agricultural crop yields.
October 2025 – September 2028 PhD Candidate in Functional Ecology and Ecophysiology, University of Montpellier (France)
Currently studying the effects of tree species diversity on demography and carbon dynamics in tropical forest restoration plantings.