PhD Student in Natural Resources

I am a biologist graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with a master’s degree in Ecology and Evolution from the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. As an undergraduate student, I studied one year in the Environmental Sciences course at the University of East Anglia (UK) and worked at the Zoological Society of London with red list assessments. For my master's, I focused my research on the effects of climate change on threatened plants distribution in the Brazilian savanna and developed prioritization scenarios for conserving these species. Living in and studying about the most biodiversity rich savanna in the world, known as the Cerrado, made me fall in love with this dry and immense ecosystem neglected by the forest-oriented scientific and policy community.

Therefore, I joined the NGO International Institute for Sustainability, where I worked for 5 years with ecosystem restoration projects and sustainable management in the Cerrado. Such experience of implementing participatory projects together with rural communities, sparked my interest of unveiling the field of human sciences and their interactions with the natural sciences. Therefore, in my PhD research I want to answer the following questions: What drives people’s decisions on ecosystem restoration in the Brazilian Cerrado? Into what extent do such decisions impact the ecological and economic outcomes delivered by restored areas?

When I am not working or studying, I love to do physical activities, including acrobatics, capoeira (Brazilian sport that combines elements of dance, fight, acrobatics, and music), dance, and hiking, among other ways of moving.

Prospective graduate students interested in learning more about research and experiences in the Rubenstein School may contact me.

Publications

Selected Publications

  • Maioli, V.; Monteiro, L. M.; Tubenchlak, F.; Pepe, I.; Carvalho, Y. B.; Gomes, F.; Strassburg, B. B.; Latawiec, A. E. Local perception in Forest Landscape Restoration planning: A case study from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2021.
  • Crouzeilles, R.; Maurenza, D.; Prieto, P.V.; Barros, F.S.; Jakovac, C.; Ferreira, M.S.; Chazdon, R.L.; Lindenmayer, D.B.; Brancalion, P.H.S.; Ceccon, E.; Adams, C; Lazos-Chavero, E.; Monteiro, L.; Junqueira, A.B.; Strassburg, B.B.N and Guariguata, M.R. Associations between socio‐environmental factors and landscape‐scale biodiversity recovery in
  • naturally regenerating tropical and subtropical forests. Conservation Letters, e12768, 2020.
  • Crouzeilles, R.; Beyer, H.; Monteiro, L. M.; Feltran-barbieri, R.; Pessôa, A.C.; Barros, F.; Lindenmayer, D.; Lino, E.; Grelle, C.E.; Chazdon, R.; Matsumoto, M.; Rosa, M.; Latawiec, A.; Strassburg, B. Achieving cost-effective landscape-scale forest restoration through targeted natural regeneration. Conservation letters, v. 00, p. e12709, 2020.
  • Monteiro, L.M., Ramos, L.F.C., Moreira, L.S.B., Côrtes, T.R. Borba, R.C. Educação indígena e o ensino de Ciências e Biologia: uma investigação sobre sujeitos e aprendizagens plurais. Revista de Ensino de Biologia da SBEnBio, 12(2), pp.207-225, 2019.
  • Hidasi-Neto, J., Joner, D.C., Resende, F., Monteiro, L.M., Faleiro, F.V., Loyola, R.D. and Cianciaruso, M.V. Climate change will drive mammal species loss and biotic homogenization in the Cerrado Biodiversity Hotspot. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 17(2), pp.57-63, 2019.
  • Latawiec, A.; Pianura, M.; Pena, I.; Monteiro, L. M. and Gomes, F. Games and the Communication of Ecosystem Services to Non-Scientific Audiences. Modern Concepts and Developments in Agronomy, v.4 (5), 2019.
  • Monteiro, L. M.; Brum, F. T.; Pressey, R. L.; Morellato, L. P. C.; Soares-Filho, B.; Lima-Ribeiro, M. S.; Loyola, R. Evaluating the impact of future actions in minimizing vegetation loss from land conversion in the Brazilian Cerrado under climate change. Biodiversity and Conservation, 1-22, 2018.
  • Vieira, R.R.S.; Ribeiro, B.R.; Resende, F.M.; Brum, F.T.; Machado, N.; Sales, L.P.; Macedo, L.; Soares‐Filho, B.; Loyola, R. Compliance to Brazil's Forest Code will not protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Diversity and Distributions, 24(4), pp.434-438, 2018.
  • Monteiro, L. M.; Machado, N.; Martins, E.; Pougy, N.; Verdi, M.; Martinelli, G.; Loyola, R. Conservation priorities for the threatened flora of mountaintop grasslands in Brazil. Flora (Jena), v. 229, 2017.
  • Crouzeilles, R.; Ferreira, M.S.; Chazdon, R.L.; Lindenmayer, D.B.; Sansevero, J.B.B.; Monteiro, L.; Iribarrem, A.; Latawiec, A.E.; Strassburg, B.N. Ecological restoration success is higher for natural regeneration than for active restoration in tropical forests. Science Advances, v. 3 (11), e1701345, 2017.
Lara Monteiro

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Ecosystem restoration, sustainable management, biodiversity conservation, human behaviour, participatory methods, citizen science

Advisors: Brendan Fisher and Gillian Galford

Education

  • M.S. Ecology and Evolution, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil
  • B.S. Biological Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Teaching degree, Biological Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Contact

Email:

lara.monteiro@uvm.edu

Phone:
  • +5521996995945
Office Location:

210 Colchester Ave., Burlington, VT 05405