After graduating in forestry from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Patricia completed a Master of Natural Resources Ecology and Management at the Oklahoma State University. Her research has included studying industrial plantation forests, investigating above and below ground biomass growth, and evaluation of silvicultural operations from nursery to harvest for national companies in Brazil. Patricia is currently undertaking research toward a PhD with the School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences at The University of Melbourne. In her current research, Patricia’s applies her expertise in GIS, forest dynamics and tree water-related physiology to the analysis of tree canopy cover data to estimate the rate of canopy change. Her study of canopy change rates for common trees in differing soil and rainfall zones of Melbourne’s newly urbanised outer suburbs will identify species which perform well and which are likely to better support future urban greening initiatives.