Dr Ilaíne S. Matos is a plant eco-physiologist with research interests in plant hydraulics, functional ecology and global change biology. She is passionate about understanding and predicting how native and cultivated vegetation respond to climate change events, such as extreme droughts, heatwaves, and fires. As the world, and particularly South Australia, becomes hotter, drier and more fire-prone, understanding how plants cope with these novel and extreme environmental conditions is critical for ensuring the long-term persistence of our native vegetation and the profitability of our agricultural sector.Dr Ilaíne S. Matos is the lead of the Plant Ecophysiology research group, which is focused on unravelling the different strategies that plants can exhibit to deal with adverse and stressful conditions. By combining fieldwork, greenhouse and laboratory experiments, functional trait assessment and process-based modeling, they have advanced our capacity to identify which plant species are more tolerant to stress, and which are more likely to be lost as the climate changes. Currently, Dr Ilaíne S. Matos is working on several projects related to:
(1) Modelling the physiological responses of plant species (threatened, native, urban trees, crops, and forestry plant species) to multiple and interactive environmental stressors (i.e. drought, fire and heat); (2) Identifying the environmental factors affecting the fecundity of arid plant species used in post-mining regeneration; (3) Examining temporal and spatial dynamics in the functional strategies of response to drought in arid land vegetation; and (4) Discovering the links between form, function, and evolution in leaf venation networks to optimize human-made transportation networks.Beyond research, Dr Ilaíne S. Matos has actively contributed to educate and inspire the next generation of ecologists, plant scientists and environmentalists via both teaching and outreach activities. By merging science and arts, Ilaine's group has led several engagement events with local communities, schools, and visitors of protected natural areas to increase awareness of the serious environmental and societal consequences of climate and land-use changes. As a Latina woman, mother, and first-generation college student from a rural and underprivileged community in Brazil’s poorest region, Ilaine has experienced many of the social and institutional barriers that under-represented groups have to overcome to succeed in academia. She is committed to creating an inclusive, collaborative, and nurturing environment in every dimension of her work and to guiding students along the challenging scientific path.