Franziska Schrodt

Contact

• workRoom A12 Sir Clive Grainger
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 84 66071
• Franziska.Schrodt1@nottingham.ac.uk
• http://fischrodt.wixsite.com/fisw

Biography

2021 - present Associate Professor, School of Geography, University of Nottingham (UK)

2019 - 2021 Assistant Professor, School of Geography, University of Nottingham (UK)

2016 - 2019 Anne McLaren Fellow, School of Geography, Univ. of Nottingham (UK)

2015 - 2016 Senior Lecturer, School of Geography, University of Brighton (UK)

2013 - 2015 Research Associate, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

2012 - 2013 Research Associate, Institute on the Environment, Univ. of Minnesota (US)

Expertise Summary

My work focuses on the application and development of remote sensing, machine learning, and open access databases to improve our understanding of the threat climate change and anthropogenic drivers pose for bio- and geodiversity and on finding nature-based solutions to mitigate these threats.

I learn from and work with experts across disciplines wherever possible and lead five international cross-disciplinary working groups. Knowledge exchange and engagement are central to my work. I have collaborated with UNESCO on policy engagement, participated in public outreach (the Conversation, BBC, Frontiers of Young Minds), worked in higher education for over 14 years, and am a co-author of the CFOP26 Universities Network paper on Mainstreaming Climate Change Education in UK Higher Education Institutions (Thew et al. 2022).

Teaching Summary

University of Nottingham (UK): Earth and Environmental Dynamics, Patterns of Life, Emerging Challenges in Biogeography, Techniques in Environmental Sciences, People and Environment University of… read more

Research Summary

My work focuses on the application and development of remote sensing, machine learning and non-linear statistical tools to study changes in biodiversity and geodiversity. I am especially interested… read more

• Foundation for Biodiversity Research, Centre for the Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity (2023 - 2026). French biodiversity in the Anthropocene - impacts and drivers of spatial and temporal response (PI, £130,000). Coordination of 11 academics from 5 countries with a background in ecology, computer science, remote sensing, conservation and policy.
• BBSRC International Partnerships (2022 - 2023). Smelling biodiversity - establishing a biochemical detection pipeline for volatile organic carbon (VOC) assessment as a novel biodiversity indicator (PI, £ 12,152). Establishment of new collaboration between German biochemists, Swiss microbiologists and UK biodiversity assessment experts.
• German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (2020 - 2023). Quantifying temporal change in traits across taxa and the globe (PI, £ 40,000). Coordination of 23 academics from 6 countries with backgrounds in biodiversity assessment for different taxa and ecosystems, mathematics, computer science and biodiversity theory.
• German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (2020 - 2023) Synthesising plant metabolomics into biodiversity, life history and ecology (PI, £ 40,000). Coordination of 22 academics from 8 countries with expertise in chemistry, physiology, AI, molecular ecology, biodiversity and ecological computing.
• Royal Society Geodiversity science for society (PI) Leading geologists, geomorphologists, biogeochemists, representatives of GOs and NGOs, film makers, experts in policy communication and remote sensing from eight countries and four continents.

• University of Nottingham (UK): Earth and Environmental Dynamics, Patterns of Life, Emerging Challenges in Biogeography, Techniques in Environmental Sciences, People and Environment
• University of Brighton (UK): Statistics, Biodiversity, Environmental laboratory and field skills, Global Change, Biogeography, Ecology, Plant Physiology, Evolution, Plant-Animal interactions.
• International Max Planck research school (DE): Introduction to R, R for spatial analysis
• University of Minnesota (USA): Biological diversity, Ecosystem functioning, Landscape Ecology, Tropical Biology, Plant Physiology
• University of Leeds (UK): Soils and Environmental Change, Environmental Systems Analysis, Practical and Analytical Skills in Environmental Science, Geographical Science, Discharge and sediment dynamics in river management

Current Research

My work focuses on the application and development of remote sensing, machine learning and non-linear statistical tools to study changes in biodiversity and geodiversity. I am especially interested in functional trait - environment correlations and associated implications for ecosystem structure and functioning, as well as developing causal algorithms to study anthropogenic influences on biodiversity.

I am currently working on global and European scales, as well as Arctic and Tropical ecosystems.

A recent focus of my work is on Nature Positive Futures, particularly developing green finance instruments to safeguard and enhance biodiversity globally, as well as lessons learned from indigenous farming practices' resilience to climate change.

For a full and up-to-date list of my publications, see google scholar.

Recent highlights:

• Walker, T.W.N., Schrodt, F., et al. (2023) Leaf metabolic traits reveal hidden dimensions of plant form and function. Science advances (accepted, preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.08.531692)
• Martin, I., Schrodt, F. et al. (2023) Widespread reductions in body size are paired with stable assemblage biomass. Science (accepted, preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.03.526822)
• Xu, W.-B., Go, W.-J., Sierra-Diaz, J. M., Schrodt, F. et al. (2023) Global beta-diversity of angiosperm trees is shaped by Quaternary climate change, Science Advances. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add85
• Sabatini F. M., ...., Schrodt, F. et al. (2022) Global patterns of vascular plant alpha diversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32063-z
• Lausch, A., Schaepman, ME, Skidmore, AK, ...., Schrodt, F. et al. (2022) Remote sensing of geomorphodiversity linked to biodiversity - part III: traits, processes and remote sensing characteristics. Remote Sens. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14092279
• Guo, W.-Y., Serra-Diaz, J. M., Schrodt, F. et al (2022) High exposure of global tree diversity to human pressure. PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.202673311