Heidi Hawkins

I am a research fellow at Conservation International and an honorary research associate at the University of Cape Town, enabling a linking of academia with grass roots conservation efforts.

My main interest is nutrient cycling and drivers in aboveground-belowground communities, and what this means for ecosystem functioning and global change. Recent work tests how major drivers in grasslands and savanna (climate, herbivory, fire, woody plant encroachment) affect primary productivity as well as nutrient cycling, soil microbial and faunal diversity, and carbon sinks. My work has informed agroecological problems concerning sustainable and integrated livestock farming, human-wildlife conflict, as well as nutrition and water balance of indigenous crops (protea and rooibos, barley). Besides academic articles, my work includes translational productions such as manuals and policy briefs. My future research vision is to provide major contributions to the knowledge base of biodiversity and nutrient cycling within above-belowground communities, including wildlife areas, so that we can better understand the biodiversity-carbon nexus and manage habitats in the face of global change.