Dr. Sandra Brown, chief scientist for Winrock International’s Ecosystem Services Unit, was recently presented with the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) Tropical Forest Conservation Award in recognition of her work as the IITF’s most prolific research cooperator.
Brown worked with IITF researchers starting in 1980 and jointly published more than 150 scientific papers with them. She was presented with the award in May at the 75th Anniversary of the IITF Science and Conservation Symposium in Puerto Rico, where she gave a keynote presentation: “Trailblazing the Tropical Carbon Cycle: It Started in Puerto Rico.” The presentation detailed the research program she participated in with IITF researchers, which advanced the science on quantifying the carbon stocks and flows of tropical forests. The research serves as the foundation for understanding the role tropical forests play in the global carbon cycle and mitigating climate change.