Group members

Dr Adam Hastie- Group Leader

Hi, I’m Adam Hastie. I’m a researcher at Charles University in Prague. I’m interested in quantifying and understanding the carbon cycle of wetlands, with a particular focus on tropical peatlands. Tropical peatlands, the most carbon dense terrestrial ecosystems in the world, are a substantial but highly uncertain component of the global carbon cycle with wide-ranging estimates of their total area (441,025 -1,700,000 km²), and total below-ground carbon (105-215 Pg C). Protecting and restoring tropical peatlands can make a significant contribution to limiting CO₂ emissions and global warming, but policy instruments such as REDD+ and Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement must be informed by high resolution maps of peatland distribution and an understanding of how carbon stocks and fluxes will respond to climate and land-use change. Our group uses fieldwork, remote sensing, modelling and paleoecology to address these uncertainties.

Email- hastiea@natur.cuni.cz

Twitter- @AdamHastie6

MSc. Yarin Tatiana Puerta Quintana

I am Yarin Tatiana Puerta, I’m a PhD student at Charles University. I’m working on Tropical Peatlands in South America. My interest lies in identifying tipping points in carbon accumulation and creating maps that evidence the spatial and temporal change in peatlands ecosystem. Since my university degree in Environmental Engineering in 2014 I have been working with wetlands, focusing on conservation, data analysis, aquatic ecotoxicology and water quality. I like to talk with people about wetlands and their importance on the earth, I do active outreach by joining the annual Ramsar celebration. Also I love to travel and to see different environments, exploring various ecosystems inspires me to ask new questions about our planet.

Yarin Tatiana is co-supervised by Dr. Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado (Kew Gardens).

Email- yarin.puerta@gmail.com

Audra Swan MEarthSci

Hi, I’m Audra Swan and I am a PhD student at Charles University in Prague, in the Department of Botany. My project is titled “What are the long-term drivers of tropical peat accumulation in South America?” I will be focusing on addressing major knowledge gaps of the peatlands across Greater Amazonia – the primary drivers of peat and carbon accumulation in this region, as well as the vulnerability of these peatlands to modern climate change. I am also passionate about ashtanga yoga, exploring and travelling to new places, and environmental conservation. As a strong advocate for the empowerment of women in science, I am committed to breaking barriers and fostering inclusivity within the scientific community.

Audra is co-supervised by Dr Petr Kuneš (Charles University) and Dr Ian T. Lawson (University of St Andrews).

Email – swana@natur.cuni.cz

Twitter/Instagram – @audrashtanga