News | Feldpausch Research Group | University of Exeter

Satellite image of forest, in dark green, fragmented by cleared land shown in pink and red.

China Scholarship Council and University of Exeter PhD Scholarships 2027 entry

中国国家留学基金委和英国埃克塞特大学合作奖学金（博士生项目） Prof Ted Feldpausch is recruiting students for the China Scholarship Council and University of Exeter PhD Scholarships. Full-time PhD scholarships are available in collaboration with the China Scholarship Council (CSC), for September...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 20 October 2026

Aerial view of fire-degraded Amazon forest with dead trees and scorched palms above a river drawn down to exposed sandbars during drought, Acre, Brazil

The Amazon’s hottest days are warming more than twice as fast as its average, in new areas of concern

A new study in Communications Earth & Environment, co-authored at Exeter, shows that Amazonia's climate extremes are changing far faster than its averages, and that the fastest-changing region is the...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 16 September 2026

Forested Andean hillside above cattle pasture with scattered trees and hedgerows, Colombia

Andean Soil Carbon: The Deep Pool, Still Uncredited

A new policy brief distils our Global Change Biology study of 36 plots across the Colombian Andes: soil carbon rises six-fold from lowland to high-elevation forest, and a fire-derived fraction...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 20 August 2026

Aerial view of a road dividing cleared farmland from fire-degraded forest on the agricultural frontier in Acre, Amazonia.

Burned Amazonian forests stay altered for at least 40 years, new lidar study shows

New spaceborne-lidar work presented at ATBC 2026 shows Amazonian forests in Acre remain measurably shorter, simpler and lower in biomass for at least 40 years after wildfire, recovering to only...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 20 July 2026

Lorena de Souza Fleury studying soil and forest understory micrometeorological conditions and changes in carbon storage in the field, one of the long-term secondary forest plots north of Manaus.

MSc completed: Lorena de Souza Fleury traces a 25-year legacy of soil fertilisation in Amazonian secondary forests

Lorena de Souza Fleury's MSc at INPA finds that forest age, not fertiliser, drove carbon recovery in Amazonian secondary forests after 25 years, with soil holding most of the carbon.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 17 July 2026

Researcher sampling soil from the wall of a soil pit in Amazonian forest.

Amazon Soil Carbon: The Missing Credit

Amazon Soil Carbon: Policy Brief Summary The conversion of forest to agriculture in the Amazon triggers a “deforestation multiplier”: the ecosystem loses carbon equivalent to about 1.2 times the original...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 27 March 2026

Tropical peat swamp forest carbon monitoring, Central Kalimantan. Photo: Sigit Deni Sasmito/CIFOR

‘Unprecedented’ wildfires in tropical peatlands during 20th century

A new study reveals an unprecedented increase in wildfires in tropical peatlands during the 20th century. Peatlands store vast quantities of carbon below the Earth’s surface – more than all the world’s forest biomass combined – but when they catch fire large amounts of the...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 20 March 2026

Laboratory technician weighing processed Amazon PyroCarbon soil samples on a precision balance (photo: Karina Gonçalves)

From field to lab: how Amazon soil samples become data on fire and carbon

After thousands of kilometres of fieldwork across the Amazon, around two thousand soil samples have passed through the CENA laboratory in Piracicaba. This is the story of how they are...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 16 March 2026

The Guerreira project vehicle parked at an Amazon PyroCarbon field site (photo: Karina Gonçalves)

Seven study areas across five Amazon states: the road trips behind our wildfire soil research

The Amazon PyroCarbon project has covered thousands of kilometres across Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Amazonas, Acre, and Pará over the past three years. This is the story of the road trips,...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 2 March 2026

Standing dead trees above charred ground in burned forest in Acre, Brazil.

Post-doc opportunity with the Amazon PyroCarbon Project

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Research opportunities. Pyrogenic Carbon in the Amazon: quantifying soil carbon responses to the effect of...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 24 February 2026

Understory fire burning through forest, with flames and smoke among tree trunks.

PhD Scholarship: Soil carbon dynamics following Amazon forest wildfires (2026 entry)

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Research opportunities. A fully-funded PhD scholarship is available at the University of Exeter: Soil carbon...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 18 November 2025

Flames burning through forest understory vegetation.

PhD Scholarship: Integrating sensing, modelling and data analytics to understand forest microclimate dynamics under fire, degradation and climate change in Amazonia

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 14 November 2025

Researcher standing in a soil pit on sandy soil in forest, with bagged soil samples behind.

What controls forest carbon on the sandy soils of the southern Amazon?

Amazonian rainforests play an important global role in maintaining biodiversity, regulating climate, generating rainfall, and storing carbon. Yet, despite their importance, these forests continue to face multiple forms of degradation.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 23 October 2025

Measuring a lightning-struck tree with a visible lightning scar in Bobiri Forest Reserve, Ghana

Lightning fieldwork in Ghana: Gavyn Mewett surveys struck trees in Bobiri and Ankasa

PhD student Gavyn Mewett has returned from a month of fieldwork in Ghana, where he surveyed lightning-struck trees across Bobiri Forest Reserve and Ankasa Game Reserve as part of the...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 22 October 2025

Young regrowing vegetation and palms in a forest clearing, with taller trees behind.

Adding fire-derived carbon to the JULES land-surface model for the Amazon

By Oscar Kennedy-Blundell | Postdoctoral Research Associate I am currently working as a postdoctoral research associate focusing on black carbon, or pyrogenic carbon (PyC), in the Amazon Basin. My primary...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 21 October 2025

Andean forest and pasture on mountain slopes under low cloud in Colombia.

High-elevation tropical forest soils in Colombian Andes store nine times more pyrogenic carbon than Amazonian forests

The soil in high-elevation, cooler, drier tropical forests in the Colombian Andes stores more carbon from fires than lower, warmer regions, new research shows.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 28 July 2025

Dense woodland vegetation under a blue sky.

Thirty Tree Species Dominate the World’s Most Tree-Diverse Savanna

A new study published in Communications Biology (Nature Portfolio) found a surprising pattern in the world’s largest and most floristically tree diverse tropical savanna, the Cerrado. The research shows that...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 5 May 2025

Aerial view of a forest edge beside a bare, red-soil field cleared for agriculture.

Soil carbon loss twice as severe with conversion to agriculture than with repeated wildfire in Amazonian forests

A new study shows the significant impact of recurring fires and agricultural conversion on soil carbon storage in the Amazon rainforest. The research, a collaboration between the University of Exeter...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 25 March 2025

Researcher using a soil auger in regrowing forest.

Does fire in forests regrowing on old pastures reduce soil carbon? Fieldwork in central Amazonia

The Amazon rainforest, an important carbon sink, faces increasing threats from deforestation and wildfires. But what happens to the soil carbon after these disturbances? MSc student, Lorena Fleury, in the...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 19 March 2025

Cover of Science magazine, 'Fate of the forests' issue.

Tropical forests in the Americas are changing too slowly to track climate change

Our new study published in the journal Science reveals a concerning trend, that tropical forests across the Americas are changing their composition and function too slowly to keep up with...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 1 March 2025

Fire reduces tree diversity and carbon in seasonal forests of the southern Amazon

We recently published a paper led by PhD student Maurivan Barros Pereira (State University of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT)), supervised by Prof. Ted Feldpausch and co-supervised by Drs Ben Hur Marimon...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 7 January 2025

Screenshot of the Brazilian government web page for the Doctorate Sandwich (Doutorado Sanduíche) programme.

Doctorate “Sandwich” Program Abroad (PDSE) Scholarship – Feldpausch Research Group

Funding is available for Brazilian students with the Feldpausch Research Group at the University of Exeter through the CAPES and CPNq Doctoral Programme for study abroad (PDSE). Options include a...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 6 January 2025

Amazon PyroCarbon Project team on the ZF2 research tower above the central Amazon forest canopy, Manaus, November 2024

Sampling burned forest soils near Manaus to measure fire’s effect on soil carbon

In November–December 2024, a seven-member Amazon PyroCarbon Project team established 22 soil plots across contrasting fire histories in the Manaus region, central Amazonia, advancing understanding of fire impacts on soil...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 5 December 2024

Artwork simulates the experience of a forest fire

New artwork highlights forests damaged by deforestation and wildfire

Artwork developed by our Amazon Past Fire and Amazon PyroCarbon Projects, funded by UK NERC and ODA grants, was shown at a new artwork exhibit to highlight deforestation and wildfire....

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 7 October 2024

Red heliconia flowers in tropical forest understory.

In Memory of Luciana Pereira

It is with great sadness that we share the loss of Luciana Pereira, a talented Geography PhD student at the University of Exeter, whose research focused on the effects of...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 16 May 2024

Researcher examining a dark charcoal-rich soil layer in a trench during Amazon PyroCarbon Project fieldwork in Acre, Brazil

Revisiting burned forest plots in Acre to track how fire changes soil carbon

Between 19 and 30 April 2024, the Amazon PyroCarbon Project team travelled to Acre, Brazil, to revisit permanent burned-forest plots, collect soils and charcoal for ancient fire dating, and install...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 15 May 2024

Postdoctoral Opportunity to Quantifying Soil Organic Carbon Responses to Landscape-Scale Fire in the Amazon

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Opportunities. FAPESP Opportunity Postdoctoral Opportunity to Quantifying Soil Organic Carbon Responses to Landscape-Scale Fire in...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 27 November 2023

Wildfire burning at night along a forest, with tall flames and smoke.

Post-doc to model soil carbon and fire in tropical forests

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Opportunities. We are recruiting for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to model soil carbon and fire...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 21 November 2023

Misty tropical rainforest with dense green understory.

Extreme El Niño weather saw South America’s forest carbon sink switch off

Tropical forests in South America lose their ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere when conditions become exceptionally hot and dry, according to new research. For a long time, tropical forests...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 6 September 2023

Aerial view of a winding river through forest canopy.

People and the Amazon: new display by the Univ of Exeter and Eden Project

Prof Ted Feldpausch and Prof Jose Iriarte developed a new display with the Eden Project to communicate to the public research findings about historical land-use and fire use by pre-Columbian...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 25 August 2023

Research talk at the Eden Project: The history of people and fire in the Amazon rainforest

Expert talk – ‘The history of people and fire in the Amazon rainforest’ Where: The Core Film Room (1st floor), The Eden Project, Cornwall, UK When: 2pm, 11-Sept-2023 People have been living in the Amazon rainforest for...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 1 August 2023

Maps of study sites and vegetation types in southwestern Amazonia.

Can microscopic plant remains in soil reveal pre-Columbian land use in the Amazon?

Phytolith analysis is a well-established archaeobotanical tool, having provided important insights into pre-Columbian crop cultivation and domestication across Amazonia through the Holocene. Yet, its use as a palaeoecological tool is...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 11 May 2023

Researcher climbing a tall tree trunk into the forest canopy.

Drought will reduce the rainforest’s ability to remove carbon from the environment

In a major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America, our research identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 27 April 2023

Fire training reaches 300 high-school students in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre

As part of the NERC-funded Amazon Past Fire project, we coordinated a training session with university students in the secondary education teaching programme at the Federal Universidade de Acre, Brazil,...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 14 April 2023

Degraded and burned forest in Acre Amazonia (image credit: Ted R. Feldpausch)

Post-doc opportunity: Interaction between geospatial monitoring of environmental data and soil carbon.

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Opportunities. There is a post-doctoral opportunity at INPE to study forest degradation, fire, and soil...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 10 April 2023

Teach the teacher UFAC-University of Exeter

UFAC workshop trains student teachers to teach about Amazon wildfire

A project in partnership between the University of Exeter and UFAC-Brazil held the 2nd Workshop: Exchange of Knowledge and Teaching on Burning in the Amazon, taught by biologist Yara Araújo...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 23 March 2023

Presenters showing a map to an audience at a workshop.

Workshop Exchange of Knowledge and Teaching on Burning in the Amazon, Confresa, MT-Brazil (video)

The Municipal Secretary of Education of Confresa offered the event “I Workshop Exchange of Knowledge and Teaching on Burning in the Amazon”, which took place on February 22, 23 and...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 26 February 2023

Ancient fires enhance Amazon forest drought resistance

In our recent paper, “Ancient fires enhance Amazon forest drought resistance” published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, we studied if ancient fires can alter the response of Amazonian...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 14 February 2023

View over a river flanked by forest canopy.

Tropical Forest Research in Geography at the University of Exeter (video)

Researchers at the University of Exeter describe some of the globally important research that they lead on tropical forests and peatlands.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 3 February 2023

Graduates in gowns gathered on steps outside a university building.

Congratulations to our December 2022 graduates

Congratulations to all of the students graduating from the University of Exeter this week. Those completing included a PhD student I supervised, Dr Laura Vedovato, with her PhD on “From...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 14 December 2022

Close-up of flames burning through dry grass and shrubs.

Fully funded PhD opportunity: Soil carbon dynamics following Amazon Forest fires: quantifying the role of fire severity and charcoal, NERC GW4+ DTP PhD

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Opportunities. This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 12 December 2022

Map of the Amazon Basin showing the three study sites in Guyana and northern and southern Peru, with earlier charcoal records, over a gradient of dry-season rainfall.

Radiocarbon-dated soil charcoal reveals how fire varied across Amazon forests through time

In our recent paper, “Forest Fire History in Amazonia Inferred From Intensive Soil Charcoal Sampling and Radiocarbon Dating” published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, we examined the history...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 4 May 2022

Title slide for the QUEX workshop on fire regimes in tropical and sub-tropical peatlands, with University of Queensland and University of Exeter logos.

QUEX Workshop: Fire Regimes in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Peatlands During the Holocene

A two-day hybrid workshop (both online and in-person) was held on 25th and 26th November 2021 that included 20 participants from different institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia, Colombia, Spain, and Brazil.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 27 November 2021

Workshop report cover, 'Ciência e prática sobre o fogo na Amazônia', with partner logos over flames.

Nearly 300 people join online workshop on fire in Amazonia

The four-day workshop “Science and Practices of Fire in Amazonia: past, present and future”, organized by the University of Exeter, with Brazilian institutions (Cemaden, INPE and UNEMAT), was held between...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 14 November 2021

Workshop poster for 'Ciência e prática sobre o fogo na Amazônia', with a tree illustration and partner logos.

Workshop on Science and Practices of Fire in Amazonia: past, present, future

This workshop took place on 8–11 November 2021. Read the report: Nearly 300 people join online workshop on fire in Amazonia. The Workshop held by the University of Exeter, National...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 2 November 2021

Taking the pulse of Earth’s tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots

This video and paper highlight the work we are doing through ForestPlots.net to take the pulse of Earth’s tropical forests. Research and activities through Forestplots.net for the past decade and...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 6 July 2021

Charred tree trunk with a plot tag, surrounded by regrowing vegetation.

Reading fire history and carbon loss from charcoal in burned Amazon forests

Research at the University of Exeter examines how measurements of charcoal reflectance can be used to understand fire regimes and carbon dynamics in tropical forests in South America.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 7 June 2021

Smoke from a fire rising over forest canopy.

Fires from 2015 El Niño drought burned “fire-resistant” wet forests in central Amazonia

A new study by Pontes-Lopes et al. 2021 examining the impacts of the record-breaking drought and fires caused by the 2015/2016 El Niño has found that even the wet forests of...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 21 May 2021

Masters and PhD selection in the Tropical Forests Science Programme at INPA, Brazil

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Opportunities. The public selection process is now open for assessing and selecting candidates for admission...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 18 May 2021

Field assistant recording measurements in rainforest.

African rainforests remained a carbon sink during record heat and drought

In our recent work studying the impact of record heat and drought on intact African tropical rainforests there was surprising resilience to the extreme conditions during the last major 2015/2016...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 17 May 2021

Burned forest with dead and scorched trees.

Two PhD students funded to study forest degradation and recovery within the Global Systems Institute

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Research opportunities. Two complementary PhD studentships have been funded thanks to donations from long-term University...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 12 May 2021

Researcher crouching to measure seedlings in a forest plot.

Repeatedly burned Amazon forests have the fewest tree species: evidence from plots, Landsat and radar

Fire is an important cause of disturbance in terrestrial ecosystems and can has a major impact on biodiversity. We evaluated the effect of fire regime on species richness and tree...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 28 April 2021

Large fallen dead tree on the forest floor beside marked trees.

Scientists unravel how and why Amazon trees die

A huge new study has unravelled what factors control tree mortality rates in Amazon forests and helps to explain why tree mortality is increasing across the Amazon basin. The capacity...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 11 November 2020

Lightning bolt over a dark forested ridge.

PhD in Geography (NERC GW4+ DTP): The ecology of lightning strikes – How many trees in tropical forests killed by lightning?

This opportunity has closed. For current PhD and postdoctoral opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Opportunities. We are seeking qualified and motivated candidates to pursue a PhD studying how lighting...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 26 October 2020

Palm trees on a slope above a rocky stream bed.

The global abundance of palm trees

A major study in forests across the tropics is the first global assessment of palm tree numbers to better understand forest composition, diversity, and to reduce uncertainty about the role...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 6 July 2020

View over forest canopy with banana plants in the foreground.

Innovation by ancient farmers adds to biodiversity of the Amazon

Innovation by ancient farmers to improve soil fertility continue to have an impact on the biodiversity of the Amazon, a major new study shows.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 15 June 2020

Researcher climbing a large tree trunk with ropes.

Tropical forests beat the heat, but have limits

Tropical forests face an uncertain future under climate change, but new research published in Science suggests they can continue to store large amounts of carbon in a warmer world if...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 22 May 2020

Researcher measuring a tree trunk's diameter with a tape in rainforest.

Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, in Amazonia and tropical Africa forests

Competition among trees is an important driver of community structure and dynamics in tropical forests. Neighboring trees may impact an individual tree’s growth rate and probability of mortality, but large-scale...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 16 May 2020

Aerial view of continuous tropical forest canopy over hills.

Capacity of tropical forests to act as a carbon sink is rapidly weakening

The ability of the world’s tropical forests to remove carbon from the atmosphere is decreasing, according to a study tracking 300,000 trees over 30 years, published today in Nature.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 4 March 2020

Regrowing forest with dead standing trees after fire.

How fire affects young trees and forest regrowth in the southern Amazon

There has been a large increase in deforestation and wildfire in Amazonia over recent years. Fire in tropical forests increases tree mortality, degrades forest structure, and reduces carbon stocks (Figure...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 14 February 2020

Researchers digging and sampling a soil pit in forest.

Charcoal reflectance: a new way to measure fire severity in burned forests

New research in Geography at the University of Exeter is developing a charcoal reflectance methodology into a novel metric with which to assess fire severity and the amount of energy...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 13 December 2019

Maps of South America showing modelled tree cover under different scenarios.

Adding fire to the JULES land-surface model to predict effects on vegetation and carbon

Fire is an important disturbance factor on the land surface, and effects carbon, nitrogen and water cycles, and it is therefore important to be able to represent this process in...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 24 November 2019

Forest canopy with a red-flowering tree under a cloudy sky.

PhD in Geography (NERC GW4+ DTP): The ecology of lightning strikes: How many trees in tropical forests killed by lightning?

This opportunity has closed. This studentship was re-advertised in 2020: see the 2020 advert. For current opportunities in the Feldpausch group, see Opportunities.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 15 October 2019

Montane forest slopes around a lake under cloud.

PhD in Geography (NERC GW4+ DTP): Forest degradation and ecosystem services in tropical montane forests

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 7 October 2019

Low fire burning through leaf litter on the forest floor.

Fire reverses carbon sink in seasonally flooded forests in southern Amazonia

Our recent research highlights the negative effects of fire on the forest carbon sink in seasonally flooded forests in southern Amazonia, an area rich in diversity at the forest-savanna transition, including...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 15 August 2019

Better IPCC estimates of how fast regrowing tropical forests store carbon

Previous research (Feldpausch et al. 2007) by my group showed the variation in rates of carbon uptake by regrowing secondary forests. Our new research published this month refines IPCC default rates...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 16 July 2019

Even Amazon forests with no record of fire carry its legacy deep in their soils

Charcoal-derived carbon makes up a tenth of the soil carbon under Amazon forests with no known fire history, and half of it lies deeper than most soil surveys ever sample.

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 8 August 2017

Visitors crossing a rope bridge through the Eden Project's rainforest biome.

Tropical rainstorms and a wobbly rope bridge in the cloudy treetops at the Eden Project’s new Weather Maker

Visitors to the Eden Project can now trek across an aerial rope bridge, shelter from tropical rain and travel through clouds thanks to the opening of a thrilling new rainforest...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 20 April 2017

Sunlight and mist over a rainforest canopy.

Drought stalls tree growth and shuts down Amazon carbon sink

A recent drought completely shut down the Amazon Basin’s carbon sink, by killing trees and slowing their growth, a ground-breaking study led by researchers at the Universities of Exeter and...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 6 July 2016

First direct evidence that drought-weakened Amazonian forests ‘inhale less carbon’

For the first time, an international research team, including Dr Ted Feldpausch, a tropical forest ecologist from the University of Exeter, has provided direct evidence of the rate at which...

Posted by Ted Feldpausch on 5 March 2015

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