Dr Adriane Esquivel Muelbert PhD

Dr Adriane Esquivel Muelbert

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Associate Professor in Global Forest Ecology

Contact details

Address
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Adriane Esquivel Muelbert investigates how forests respond to different global change forces and what the implications of these responses are on biodiversity and global biogeochemical cycles. Her work demonstrates the importance of drought tolerance in shaping diversity and composition across Neotropical tree communities and provides evidence that Amazonian forests are changing as a result of the increase in water stress and atmospheric CO2. More recently, she has focused on tree mortality and how tree death varies across large geographical scales.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Ecology and Global Change - University of Leeds, UK (2017)
  • MSc (Hons) in Ecology – Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (2012)
  • BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences - Federal University of Paraná, Brazil (2010)

Other activities

2021 – present. External lecturer at the Ecology and Conservation postgraduate program of the State University of Mato Grosso. 

2020 – present. Member of the organizing committee of the International Tree Mortality Network. A network to understand the causes of tree mortality 

2012 – present. Member of the RAINFOR network

2020 – 2021. Invited member. Working Group 8: Climate change in the Amazon: Tendencies, Impacts and Ecological. Science Panel for the Amazon.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Nabuurs, GJ, Maximo, YI, Starcevic, A, Patacca, M, Filipek, S, Schulte, M, Lerink, BJ, Bozzolan, N, Suvanto, S, Pugh, TAM, Govaere, L, Thibaut, A, Cavlović, J, Nord-Larsen, T, Kvist-Johannsen, V, Brownell, H, Wurpillot, S, Dassot, M, Redmond, J, McCullagh, A, Corona, P, Kugener, G, Astrup, R, Breidenbach, J, Talarczyk, A, Neroj, B, Seben, V, Alberdi, I, Fridman, J, Thürig, E, Rohner, B, Esquivel-Muelbert, A, König, L, Freudenschuss, A, Gschwanter, T, Berger, A, Korhonen, K, Teeuwen, S, Hassegawa, M, Cienciala, E, Munoz-Aviles, R, Chirici, G, Verkerk, PJ & Schelhaas, MJ 2026, 'Contemporary high resolution European forest structure assessed using tree-level National Forest Inventory data', PLOS One, vol. 21, no. 6, e0346611. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0346611

Handy, G, Kourmouli, A, Arnaud, M, Mayoral, C, Norby, RJ, Reay, MK, Ullah, S, Hartley, IP, Hamilton, RL, Grzesik, R, Smith, AR, Vanguelova, E, MacKenzie, AR & Esquivel‐Muelbert, A 2026, 'Informing the potential of mature temperate forests as natural climate solutions: Changed fine root biomass and morphology under elevated CO2', Plants People Planet. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70222

Mailes, R, B. L. Cintra, B, Bergamin, RS, Graham, LJ, Luna, E, Heard, MS, Matthews, TJ, MacKenzie, AR, Brienen, R & Esquivel-Muelbert, A 2026, 'Risk Factors of Ash Dieback Disease and Consequences for Carbon Storage in Natural Ash Populations', Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 610, 123575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123575

Fadrique, B, Costa, F, Cuesta, F, Arellano, G, Cayuela, L, Baker, TR, Draper, FC, Esquivel-Muelbert, A, ter Steege, H, Bauters, M, Aguirre-Gutiérrez, J, Aguirre-Mendoza, Z, Alexiades, MN, Alvarez-Davila, E, Arets, E, Ayala, E, Aymard, CGA, Baccaro, F, Báez, S, Baraloto, C, Barbosa, RI, Barbosa Camargo, P, Barlow, J, Barni, PE, Barroso, J, Benchimol, M, Bennett, AC, Berenguer, E, Blanc, L, Bonal, D, Bongers, F, Brienen, R, Brown, F, BT Andrade, M, Burban, B, Burnham, RJ, Camargo, JL, Carvalho, SPC, Castilho, C, Chave, J, Coelho de Souza, F, Comiskey, J, da Costa, L, de Lima, RB, de Oliveira, EA, de Oliveira, RLC, de Oliveira Perdiz, R, De Rutte, J, del Aguila-Pasquel, J, Derroire, G, Di Fiore, A, Disney, M, Duque, A, Emilio, T, Farfan-Rios, W, Fauset, S, Fearnside, PM, Feeley, KJ, Feldpausch, TR, Ferreira, J, Ferreira, L, Flores Llampazo, GR, Galbraith, D, García-Cabrera, K, García Criado, M, Gloor, E, Grandez-Rios, JM, Hérault, B, Homeier, J, Honorio Coronado, EN, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I, Huaraca Huasco, W, Huillca-Aedo, YT, Idárraga, Á, Jadán-Maza, O, Kalamandeen, M, Killeen, TJ, Laurance, SGW, Laurance, WF, Levesley, A, Lopez, W, Macía, MJ, Magnusson, WE, Malhi, Y, Manzatto, AG, Marimon, BS, Marimon Junior, BH, Martínez-Villa, JA, Medeiros, MB, Melgaço, K, Melo, L, Metzker, T, Monteagudo, A, Morandi, PS, Myers, JA, Nascimento, HM, Nascimento, R, Neill, D, Nieto-Ariza, B, Palacios, WA, Palacios-Ramos, S, Pallqui-Camacho, NC, Pardo Molina, G, Peacock, J, Peña, MA, Pennington, RT, Peñuela, MC, Peres, CA, Pérez, ÁJ, Pickavance, GC, Pinto, E, Pipoly, J, Pitman, N, Prieto, A, Ramírez-Angulo, H, Reis, SM, Restrepo, Z, Reynel, C, Ribeiro, S, Rivas-Torres, G, Rojas, R, Rudas, A, Salinas, N, Salomão, RP, Santana, F, Schietti, J, Schwartz, G, Serrano, J, Silman, M, Silva, C, Silva, CA, Silva, RC, Silva, RSA, Silva-Espejo, J, Silveira, M, Simon, MF, Soto-Shareva, YC, Souza, PF, Storck-Tonon, D, Stropp, J, Swamy, V, Tello, JS, Terborgh, J, Thomas, R, Torres-Lezama, A, Vale, JD, Valenzuela Gamarra, L, van der Heijden, G, van der Hout, P, van der Meer, PJ, Vasquez Martinez, R, Vedovato, L, Verbeeck, H, Vieira, I, Vieira, SA, Vilanova, E, Vinceti, B, Vos, VA, Zagt, R, Zuidema, PA & Phillips, OL 2026, 'Tree diversity is changing across tropical Andean and Amazonian forests in response to global change', Nature Ecology and Evolution, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 267-280. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02956-5

Resende, BO, Juen, L, Schietti, J, Baccaro, FB, Krempser, E, Moura Jr., J, Colares, L, Carvalho, RL, Phillips, OL, Souza, G, Michelan, TS, Ghidini, AR, Demori, A, Façanha, BLB, Rosa, C, Venticinque, E, Bomfim, F, Raseira, M, Famelli, S, Esquivel-Muelbert, A, Kasseboehmer, AC, Fares, AL, Ferreira, AS, Ribas, CC, Castilho, C, Nunes, CA, Andrade, DFCD, Silvério, D, Cunha, EJR, Antunes, E, Rodrigues, E, Silva, E, Alves-Martins, F, Schmidt, FA, Elias, F, Carvalho, FGD, Vaz-de-Mello, FZ, Cruz, G, Palheta, G, Teodoro, G, ter Steege, H, Albert, J, Nascimento, J, Brito, J, Toledo, JJ, Oliveira-Junior, JMB, Monteles, J, Arieira, J, Stropp, J, Dias-Silva, K, Castello, L, Giacomin, LL, Brasil, LS, Calvão, L, Vieira, L, Stegmann, L, Montag, L, Santos, MPD, Silveira, M, Guerrero-Moreno, MA, Nascimento, N, Hamada, N, Marini-Filho, O, Melo, P, Ferreira, P, de Marco Júnior, P, Maciel, R, Pinheiro, R, Ligeiro, R, Lima, R, Martins, R, Koroiva, R, Silva, RR, Ribeiro, S, Bernardi Vieira, T, Tagliacollo, VA, Ferreira, VRS, Beiroz, W, Kuikuro, Y & Machado França, F 2025, 'Collaborative research networks as a strategy to synthesize knowledge of Amazonian biodiversity', Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences, vol. 292, no. 2059, 20252069. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2069

Eckes‐Shephard, AH, Argles, APK, Brzeziecki, B, Cox, PM, De Kauwe, MG, Esquivel‐Muelbert, A, Fisher, RA, Hurtt, GC, Knauer, J, Koven, CD, Lehtonen, A, Luyssaert, S, Marqués, L, Ma, L, Marie, G, Moore, JR, Needham, JF, Olin, S, Peltoniemi, M, Piltz, K, Sato, H, Sitch, S, Stocker, BD, Weng, E, Zuleta, D & Pugh, TAM 2025, 'Demography, dynamics and data: building confidence for simulating changes in the world's forests', New Phytologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70643

Bordin, KM, Bauman, D, Pugh, TAM, Müller, SC, Phillips, OL, Fortunel, C, Needham, JF, Woodall, CW, Astigarraga, J, Schietti, J, Liu, D, Bialic‐Murphy, L & Esquivel‐Muelbert, A 2025, 'Growth–survival trade‐off in temperate trees is weak and restricted to late‐successional stages', Journal of Ecology, vol. 113, no. 11, pp. 3466-3477. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70175

Esquivel-Muelbert, A & Morgan, RB 2025, 'Increasing tree size across Amazonia', Nature Plants, vol. 11, pp. 2016–2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02097-4

Robinson, N, Drever, CR, Gibbs, DA, Lister, K, Esquivel-Muelbert, A, Heinrich, V, Ciais, P, Silva-Junior, CHL, Liu, Z, Pugh, TAM, Saatchi, S, Xu, Y & Cook-Patton, SC 2025, 'Protect young secondary forests for optimum carbon removal', Nature Climate Change, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 793-800. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02355-5

Gora, EM, McGregor, IR, Muller-Landau, HC, Burchfield, JC, Cushman, KC, Rubio, VE, Mori, GB, Sullivan, MJP, Chmielewski, MW & Esquivel-Muelbert, A 2025, 'Storms Are an Important Driver of Change in Tropical Forests', Ecology Letters, vol. 28, no. 7, e70157. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70157

International Tree Mortality Network, Senf, C, Esquivel-Muelbert, A, Pugh, TAM & Suvanto, S 2025, 'Towards a global understanding of tree mortality', New Phytologist, vol. 245, no. 6, pp. 2377-2392. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20407

Suvanto, S, Esquivel Muelbert, A, Schelhaas, MJ, Astigarraga, J, Astrup, R, Cienciala, E, Fridman, J, Henttonen, HM, Kunstler, G, Kändler, G, König, LA, Ruiz‐Benito, P, Senf, C, Stadelmann, G, Starcevic, A, Talarczyk, A, Zavala, MA & Pugh, TAM 2025, 'Understanding Europe's Forest Harvesting Regimes', Earth's Future, vol. 13, no. 2, e2024EF005225. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024ef005225

Flores, BM, Montoya, E, Sakschewski, B, Nascimento, N, Staal, A, Betts, RA, Levis, C, Lapola, DM, Esquível-Muelbert, A, Jakovac, C, Nobre, CA, Oliveira, RS, Borma, LS, Nian, D, Boers, N, Hecht, SB, ter Steege, H, Arieira, J, Lucas, IL, Berenguer, E, Marengo, JA, Gatti, LV, Mattos, CRC & Hirota, M 2024, 'Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system', Nature, vol. 626, no. 7999, pp. 555-564. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06970-0

Comment/debate

Fadrique, B, Costa, F, Cuesta, F, Arellano, G, Cayuela, L, Baker, TR, Draper, FC, Esquivel-Muelbert, A, ter Steege, H, Bauters, M, Aguirre-Gutiérrez, J, Aguirre-Mendoza, Z, Alexiades, MN, Alvarez-Davila, E, Arets, E, Ayala, E, Aymard, CGA, Baccaro, F, Báez, S, Baraloto, C, Barbosa, RI, Barbosa Camargo, P, Barlow, J, Barni, PE, Barroso, J, Benchimol, M, Bennett, AC, Berenguer, E, Blanc, L, Bonal, D, Bongers, F, Brienen, R, Brown, F, BT Andrade, M, Burban, B, Burnham, RJ, Camargo, JL, Carvalho, SPC, Castilho, C, Chave, J, Coelho de Souza, F, Comiskey, J, da Costa, L, de Lima, RB, de Oliveira, EA, de Oliveira, RLC, de Oliveira Perdiz, R, De Rutte, J, del Aguila-Pasquel, J, Derroire, G, Di Fiore, A, Disney, M, Duque, A, Emilio, T, Farfan-Rios, W, Fauset, S, Fearnside, PM, Feeley, KJ, Feldpausch, TR, Ferreira, J, Ferreira, L, Flores Llampazo, GR, Galbraith, D, García-Cabrera, K, García Criado, M, Gloor, E, Grandez-Rios, JM, Hérault, B, Homeier, J, Honorio Coronado, EN, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I, Huaraca Huasco, W, Huillca-Aedo, YT, Idárraga, Á, Jadán-Maza, O, Kalamandeen, M, Killeen, TJ, Laurance, SGW, Laurance, WF, Levesley, A, Lopez, W, Macía, MJ, Magnusson, WE, Malhi, Y, Manzatto, AG, Marimon, BS, Marimon Junior, BH, Martínez-Villa, JA, Medeiros, MB, Melgaço, K, Melo, L, Metzker, T, Monteagudo, A, Morandi, PS, Myers, JA, Nascimento, HM, Nascimento, R, Neill, D, Nieto-Ariza, B, Palacios, WA, Palacios-Ramos, S, Pallqui-Camacho, NC, Pardo Molina, G, Peacock, J, Peña, MA, Pennington, RT, Peñuela, MC, Peres, CA, Pérez, ÁJ, Pickavance, GC, Pinto, E, Pipoly, J, Pitman, N, Prieto, A, Ramírez-Angulo, H, Reis, SM, Restrepo, Z, Reynel, C, Ribeiro, S, Rivas-Torres, G, Rojas, R, Rudas, A, Salinas, N, Salomão, RP, Santana, F, Schietti, J, Schwartz, G, Serrano, J, Silman, M, Silva, C, Silva, CA, Silva, RC, Silva, RSA, Silva-Espejo, J, Silveira, M, Simon, MF, Soto-Shareva, YC, Souza, PF, Storck-Tonon, D, Stropp, J, Swamy, V, Tello, JS, Terborgh, J, Thomas, R, Torres-Lezama, A, Vale, JD, Valenzuela Gamarra, L, van der Heijden, G, van der Hout, P, van der Meer, PJ, Vasquez Martinez, R, Vedovato, L, Verbeeck, H, Vieira, I, Vieira, SA, Vilanova, E, Vinceti, B, Vos, VA, Zagt, R, Zuidema, PA & Phillips, OL 2026, 'Author Correction: Tree diversity is changing across tropical Andean and Amazonian forests in response to global change', Nature Ecology and Evolution, vol. 10, pp. 606-607. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03019-z

Other report

Luna Diez, E, Barcante Ladvocat Cintra, B, Mailes, R, Sanchez-Lucas, R, Esquivel-Muelbert, A, Ben-Tovim, R, Castle, S, Culhane, A-M, Hayward, S, MacKenzie, AR, Parry, G & Neal, L 2025, The Remembering Forest: MEMBRA Policy Report. University of Birmingham. https://doi.org/10.25500/epapers.bham.00004410

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

air pollution; urban sustainability; green infrastructure; temperate forests and climate; tropical land-use and climate