Position: Senior Research Scientist
HOD: Biodiversity Conservation & Ecosystem Service
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +233-3220-60123 / 60373
Professional fields of Interest:
Forest ecology, biodiversity conservation and forest fire management
Professional Background
2009-2014. PhD Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
1999-2003. MPhil Silviculture and Forest Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
1993-1997. BSc Natural Resource Management, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
Research Projects
- Plant diversity, environmental factors and their relation to biomass, carbon storage and dynamics in the forests of Ghana.
- Effects of climate change on regeneration of tree species in tropical forest of Ghana
- Effects of climate change on survival and growth of tree crops in Ghana.
- Biodiversity conservation in plantations on degraded forest lands within or outside forest reserves.
- The role of wildfire in farming systems in the forest transition zone of Ghana
Selected publications
Amissah, L., Mohren, G. M. J., Kyereh, B. & Poorter, L. (2015). The Effects of Drought and Shade on the Performance, Morphology and Physiology of Ghanaian Tree Species. PLoS ONE 10(4):e0121004. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121004.
Paine, C. E., Amissah, L., Auge, H., Baraloto, C., Baruffol, M., Bourland, N., Bruelheide, H., Daïnou, K., de Gouvenain, R. C., Doucet J-L., Doust, S., Fine, P. V. A., Fortunel, C., Haase, J., Holl, K. D., Jactel, H., Li, X., Kitajima, K., Koricheva, J., Martínez-Garza, C., Messier, C., Paquette, A., Philipson, C., Piotto, D., Poorter, L., Posada, J. M., Potvin, C., Rainio, K., Russo, S. E., Ruiz-Jaen, M., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Webb, C. O., Wright, S. J., Zahawi, R. A. & Hector, A. (2015). Globally, functional traits are weak predictors of juvenile tree growth, and we do not know why. Journal of Ecology 103(4), 978-989.. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12401.
Amissah, L. (2014). Functional traits, drought performance, and the distribution of tree species in tropical forests of Ghana. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, the Netherlands. ISBN 9789462570726 - 196 p.
Amissah, L., Mohren, G. M. J., Bongers, F., Hawthorne, W. D. & Poorter, L. (2014). Rainfall and temperature affect tree species distribution in Ghana. Journal of Tropical Ecology 30, 435-446.
Amissah, L., Kyereh, B. & Agyeman, V. K. (2011). Wildfire as dominant force driving farming systems in the forest transition zone of Ghana. Ghana Journal of Forestry Volume 27, 52-65.
Amissah, L., Kyereh, B. & Agyeman, V. K. (2010). Wildfire incidence and management in the forest transition zone of Ghana: Farmers’ perspectives. Ghana Journal of Forestry Volume 26, 61-73.
Amissah, L. (2009). Indigenous fire management practices in Ghana. In: Parrotta, J. A, Oteng-Yeboah, A., Cobbinah, J. (eds). Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge and Sustainable Forest Management in Africa. IUFRO World Series, Volume 23,131-135.
Amissah, L. (2007). Biodiversity conservation and management in Ghana In: Oduro, K. A., Okae-Kissiedu, K. (eds). Tropenbos International- Ghana. Restoration and Sustainable Management of Forests in Ghana. Proceedings of an international conference held in Elmina, Ghana, 5-7 July, 2007. Pp 19-23.
Awards/Fellowships
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Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP); grant number CF7428/2011, 2011. For PhD training.
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Wageningen University Sandwich Fellowship 2009. For PhD training.
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International Tropical Timber Organization Fellowship 2004. For a training course in Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring. Smithsonian Institution, Virginia, USA.
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Chevron-Texaco Corporation grant (through Smithsonian Institution MAB Program), 2005. For a training course in Environmental Leadership. Smithsonian Institution MAB Program, Virginia, USA.
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International Tropical Timber Organization. 1999. For a training in prescribed burning. National Interagency Fire Training Academy, Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Shadowing Fire Management Officers within the United States Forest Service on various National Forests: Daniel Bonne National Forest, Kentucky; Portland Oregon office to observe fire management practices.
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Earthwatch Fellowship, 1999. For participating in a vegetation survey of Kafue National Park, Zambia.
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Darwin Initiatives/ European Union. 1998. For a field course in Tropical Biology, Uganda.
Affiliations
- Member, Ghana Institute of Foresters
- Ghana Association for the Conservation of Nature
