
Ilaine Silveira Matos
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Dr Ilaine is a Lecturer of Botany at the North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide. She 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.
Ilaine's research group 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, Ilaine 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, Ilaine 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.
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
Ilaine's research applies a multiscale eco-physiological approach, from the cell up to the biome level, to understand the mechanisms underlying plants’ resilience to droughts and other abiotic (e.g. heatwaves, fires) and biotic events (e.g. herbivory). She is particularly interested in investigating how plants respond when exposed to multiple and co-occurring stresses. This knowledge is critical for predicting the impacts of climate and land-use changes on terrestrial vegetation, and for the long-term conservation of our native and cultivated plant species.
You can read more about Ilaine's research on her website.
The Plant Ecophysiology research lab is currently recruiting students at all levels (undergraduate student summer scholarships, undergraduate honours, master's and PhD) to work on research projects on the following (or related) topics:
- Interactive effects of drought and heat waves on the performance of Australian native vegetation;
- Vulnerability of Eucalyptus and other threatened Australian tree species to climate change;
- Eco-physiological strategies in desert species;
- Plant resistance and resilience to herbivory and drought damages.
Please get in touch (send an email to ilaine.matos@adelaide.edu.au) if you would like to discuss doing your Honours or PhD in the Plant Ecophysiology lab group.
The Plant Ecophysiology Lab research usually involves:
- Climate and plant physiological data collection and analysis;
- Laboratory, greenhouse, and fieldwork activities;
- Mechanistic modeling;
- Machine learning and image processing.
In addition to:
- Outreach activities in public schools and protected areas;
- Activities blending art and science.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2025 - ongoing Lecturer University of Adelaide 2024 - 2025 Visiting researcher University of Adelaide 2020 - 2024 Postoctoral Research Associate University of California, Berkeley 2019 - 2020 Postdoctoral Research Associate Arizona State University 2018 - 2018 Visiting researcher University of Oxford -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2019 Award Best Ph.D. thesis of the Postgraduate Program in Ecology and Evolution State University of Rio de Janeiro Brazil - 2011 Distinction Student Merit Medal (highest GPA) Federal University of Sergipe Brazil - -
Language Competencies
Language Competency English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review Portuguese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review Spanish - Latin American Can read and understand spoken -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2017 - 2011 Federal University of Sergipe Brazil Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biology 2015 - 2019 Rio de Janeiro State University Brazil Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Ecology and Evolution 2012 - 2014 Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro Botanical Gardens Brazil Master of Science (MSc) in Botany -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2025 Matos, I. S., Boakye, M., Antonio, M., Carlos, S., Chu, A., Duarte, M. A., . . . Blonder, B. W. (2025). Investigating the Functional and Architectural Diversity of Leaf Venation Networks. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 106(1), e02206-1-e02206-4.
2025 Niewiadomski, I., Antonio, M., Aparecido, L. M. T., Boakye, M., Carlos, S., Echevarria, A., . . . Blonder, B. W. (2025). A comprehensive illustrated protocol for clearing, mounting, and imaging leaf venation networks. Applications in Plant Sciences, 13(2), 9 pages.
2025 Roland, H., Silveira Matos, I., H. P. Rosado, B., & Oliveras Menor, I. (2025). Non-Additive effects on plant mixtures flammability in a tropical mountain ecosystem. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 34(5).
2025 Zorger, B. B., Matos, I. S., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2025). Leaf Traits Explain Shrubs' and Herbs' Functional Composition Shifts in a Climate-Impacted Tropical Montane Grassland. Austral Ecology, 50(5), 12 pages.
2025 Matos, I. S., Vu, B., Mann, J., Xie, E., Madhavan, S., Sharma, S., . . . Blonder, B. W. (2025). Leaf venation network evolution across clades and scales. NATURE PLANTS, 25 pages.
2024 Matos, I. S., Rifai, S. W., Gouveia, W. F., Oliveras, I., Mantuano, D., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2024). A causal trait model for explaining foliar water uptake capacity. Journal of Vegetation Science, 35(3), 13 pages.
2024 Matos, I. S., McDonough, S., Johnson, B. C., Kalantar, D., Rohde, J., Sahu, R., . . . Blonder, B. W. (2024). Negative allometry of leaf xylem conduit diameter and double-wall thickness: implications for implosion safety. New Phytologist, 242(6), 2464-2478.
Scopus4 Europe PMC22024 Matos, I. S., Boakye, M., Niewiadomski, I., Antonio, M., Carlos, S., Johnson, B. C., . . . Blonder, B. W. (2024). Leaf venation network architecture coordinates functional trade-offs across vein spatial scales: evidence for multiple alternative designs. New Phytologist, 244(2), 407-425.
Scopus3 Europe PMC12024 Matos, I. S., Boakye, M., Antonio, M., Carlos, S., Chu, A., Duarte, M. A., . . . Blonder, B. (2024). Leaf architecture and functional traits for 122 species at the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. Ecology, 105(12), 2 pages.
2023 Vandvik, V., Halbritter, A. H., Althuizen, I. H. J., Christiansen, C. T., Henn, J. J., Jónsdóttir, I. S., . . . Enquist, B. J. (2023). Plant traits and associated data from a warming experiment, a seabird colony, and along elevation in Svalbard. Scientific Data, 10(1), 21 pages.
Scopus4 Europe PMC22023 Matos, I. S., Rifai, S. W., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2023). 2015/16 El Niño increased water demand and pushed plants from a Mesic tropical montane grassland beyond their hydraulic safety limits. Austral Ecology, 49(1), 17 pages.
Scopus32022 Matos, I. S., Binks, O., Eller, C. B., Zorger, B. B., Meir, P., Dawson, T. E., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2022). Revisiting plant hydrological niches: The importance of atmospheric resources for ground-rooted plants. Journal of Ecology, 110(8), 1746-1756.
Scopus14 Europe PMC22021 Matos, I. S., Eller, C. B., Oliveras, I., Mantuano, D., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2021). Three eco-physiological strategies of response to drought maintain the form and function of a tropical montane grassland. Journal of Ecology, 109(1), 327-341.
Scopus24 Europe PMC22021 Christmann, T., Rosado, B. H. P., Delhaye, G., Matos, I. S., Drummond, J. S., Roland, H. L., . . . Oliveras Menor, I. (2021). Functional assembly of tropical montane tree islands in the Atlantic Forest is shaped by stress tolerance, bamboo presence, and facilitation. Ecology and Evolution, 11(15), 10164-10177.
Scopus5 Europe PMC22020 Blonder, B., Both, S., Jodra, M., Xu, H., Fricker, M., Matos, I. S., . . . Malhi, Y. (2020). Linking functional traits to multiscale statistics of leaf venation networks. New Phytologist, 228(6), 1796-1810.
Scopus20 Europe PMC52020 Eller, C. B., Rowland, L., Mencuccini, M., Rosas, T., Williams, K., Harper, A., . . . Cox, P. M. (2020). Stomatal optimization based on xylem hydraulics (SOX) improves land surface model simulation of vegetation responses to climate. New Phytologist, 226(6), 1622-1637.
Scopus113 Europe PMC282020 Matos, I. S., Flores, B. M., Hirota, M., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2020). Critical transitions in rainfall manipulation experiments on grasslands. Ecology and Evolution, 10(5), 2695-2704.
Scopus6 Europe PMC12020 Matos, I. S., Menor, I. O., Rifai, S. W., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2020). Deciphering the stability of grassland productivity in response to rainfall manipulation experiments. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29(3), 558-572.
Scopus39 WoS222016 Rosado, B. H. P., Matos, I. S., & Amorim, T. D. A. (2016). A matter of scale and traits: a comment on 'On the need for phylogenetic "corrections" in functional trait-based approaches' by de Bello et al. (2015). FOLIA GEOBOTANICA, 51(4), 383-387.
2016 Matos, I. S., & Rosado, B. H. P. (2016). Retain or repel? Droplet volume does matter when measuring leaf wetness traits. ANNALS OF BOTANY, 117(6), 1045-1052.
2015 Landim, M. F., Barnes Proenca, C. E., Sales, A. B., & Matos, I. S. (2015). Floristic characterization of an Atlantic Rainforest remnant in Southern Sergipe: Crasto forest. BIOTA NEOTROPICA, 15(1), 16 pages.
- Matos, I. S., & Landim, M. F. (n.d.). Ecologia morfofuncional de plântulas de 15 espécies da Floresta Atlântica Sergipana. Scientia Plena, 12(9).
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Book Chapters
Year Citation 2013 Silveira Matos, I., & Silva Santos, L. A. (2013). Orchidaceae: Habenaria Willd. In A. P. do Nascimento Prata, M. D. C. Estanislau do Amaral, M. C. Vieira Faria, & M. V. Alves (Eds.), Flora de Sergipe (Vol. 1, 1 ed.). Gráfica e Editora Triunfo. -
Preprint
Year Citation 2023 Matos, I., McDonough, S., Johnson, B. C., Kalantar, D., Rohde, J., Sahu, R., . . . Blonder, B. (2023). Leaf conduits grow wider than thicker and are potentially vulnerable to implosion.
DOI
Global Partnership Engagement Fund, Developing an Australia/UK research alliance to understand tree dieback from extreme heatwaves (GE051-25), University of Adelaide. $9,200
Environment Institute Research Funding Scheme, University of Adelaide (2025). $14,183
The Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship, Gordon Research Conference and Seminar series (2024). $2,390
The Rufford Foundation Grant 18749-1 (2015-2019): Vulnerability of plant communities to climate change: the role of alternative sources of water and functional diversity in plant response to drought. $15,409
I contribute to teaching in:
Botany 2
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2025 Co-Supervisor Evaluating the resilience of emerging winegrape cultivars in Australian vineyards to multiple abiotic stresses Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Caoyang Wang 2025 Co-Supervisor An examination of the morphological and physiological response to drought of the Australian genus Acacia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Sumit .
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Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2023 - ongoing Member Ecological Society of Australia Australia 2021 - ongoing Member Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science United States 2021 - ongoing Member Ecological Society of America United States 2020 - 2024 Member British Ecological Society United Kingdom -
Review, Assessment, Editorial and Advice
Date Title Type Institution Country 2024 - ongoing Associate Editor Editorial Australian Journal of Botany Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles