Olga Barbosa

Valdivia

Dr. Olga Barbosa is an ecologist interested in the relationship between humans and the environment from an ecosystem ecology perspective. She is Associate Professor, Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile; Associate Researcher of Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB-Chile) and Centro de Desarrollo Urbano Sustentable (CEDEUS). Olga earned her PhD in Ecology at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and was a postdoctoral associate at the Biodiversity and Macroecology Group (BIOME), University of Sheffield, UK. Her research has evolved from studying the effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity and ecosystem functions (e.g., water and nitrogen cycling) in endemic forests of Chile, to studying ecosystem services provision in highly modified ecosystems, such as agricultural land and cities. She currently works at the interface of ecosystem ecology and biological conservation in human dominated ecosystems, particularly looking at how multifunctional landscapes can provide ecosystem services in agro-ecosystems and cities. Her research aims to develop strategies that can impact and generate change across different sectors of society, including the private and public sectors. To achieve this, she uses a wide variety of scientific tools, from molecular ecology to social sciences, and collaborates with a fabulous team of people from several disciplines and countries. She currently lives in the beautiful city of Valdivia, loves wine, and is the mom of two fantastic kids.