Aster Afwork Gebrekirstos FAAS TWAS is an Ethiopian scientist and a professor of agroforestry at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
Aster Gebrekirstos | |
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| Born | Aster Afwork Gebrekirstos Shire, Tigray, Ethiopia |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Establishment of the Dendrochronology Laboratory, Ethiopia |
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| Scientific career | |
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Early life and education
editAster Gebrekirstos was born in Shire, Tigray, Ethiopia as the first child of a family of seven. She had the intention of becoming a doctor but her high school results did not qualify her for the profession and she had to choose between teaching and forestry and she chose the latter.[1][2]
She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the Haramaya University. She stayed at the Haramaya University as a graduate assistant immediately after her bachelor's degree before winning the Netherland Fellowship and complete a Master of Science at Wageningen University & Research (1996–1998). She took a lectureship position at Wondo Genet College of Forestry, Hawassa University.[3]
She was awarded German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship to do a Doctor of Philosophy at Gottingen University in Germany (2001–2005). After her Ph.D., she joined as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Umeå University, Sweden (2006–2008) before going to ICRAF, Kenya and Göttingen University, Germany (2009–2011).[4]
Career and research
editAs a dendrochronologist, she established dendrochronology laboratory in Ethiopia in 2009, the dendrochronology laboratory at Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources in 2010, and the World Agroforestry Centre's dendrochronology laboratory in Kenya in 2013.[5][6]
Her research focuses on Dendroisotopy,[7][8] climate change,[9][10] plant-water relations,[11][12] and social forestry.[13] Gebrekirstos is a visiting professor at the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change, Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) program, Dresden University of Applied Sciences, Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM).[4][14][15] She is serving as the Chair of the Environment Committee African Academy of Sciences and Deputy coordinator of IUFRO Task Force on Global Tree Mortality Patterns and Trends, Mountain Research Institute Science Leadership Council.[16][17][18]
Awards and recognitions
editShe was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences in 2017. [5]
Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences in 2021. [14]
Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Sciences in 2021.[17][18]
In 2014, she was awarded the African Climate Award for Excellence Research in climate adaptation and mitigation. She is also the Winner of the 2019 Special Award for Ground Breaking Science; an African-wide Young Professionals and Women in Science Competitions that was organized by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).[5][14][15]
Selected publications
edit
- Aster Gebrekirstos, Ralph Mitlöhner, Demel Teketay, Martin Worbes (2008/10). Climate–growth relationships of the dominant tree species from semi-arid savanna woodland in Ethiopia. Trees 22:631-641
- Aster Gebrekirstos, Demel Teketay, Masresha Fetene, Ralph Mitlöhner (2006). Adaptation of five co-occurring tree and shrub species to water stress and its implication in restoration of degraded lands. Forest Ecology and Management 229:1-3 259-267
- Aster Gebrekirstos, Martin Worbes, Demel Teketay, Masresha Fetene, Ralph Mitlöhner (2009/4/1). Stable carbon isotope ratios in tree rings of co-occurring species from semi-arid tropics in Africa: patterns and climatic signals. Global and Planetary Change 66:3-4 253-260
- Abiyu A, Mokria M, Gebrekirstos A, Bräuning A. (2018). Tree-ring record in Ethiopian church forests reveals successive generation differences in growth rates and disturbance events. Forest Ecology and Management 409: 835–844.
- Mokria M, Gebrekirstos A, Abiyu A, Noordwijk M, Bräuning A. (2017). Multi-century tree-ring precipitation record reveals increasing frequency of extreme dry events in the upper Blue Nile River catchment. Global Change Biology 23: 12 5436–5454.
References
edit- ^ "Earth, Oceans and Skies". simplebooklet.com. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "Earth, Oceans and Skies | African Women in Science". Earth, Oceans, Skies. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "Aster Gebrekirstos (ICRAF)". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ a b "Aster Gebrekirstos". World Agroforestry | Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ a b c "Afwork Gebrekirstos Aster | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "Tree ring laboratory opens at ICRAF". www.cabi.org. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ Dagar, Jagdish Chander; Gupta, Sharda Rani; Teketay, Demel (2021-01-04). Agroforestry for Degraded Landscapes: Recent Advances and Emerging Challenges - Vol. 2. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-981-15-6807-7.
- ^ "Tropical forests in Africa's mountains store more carbon than previously thought – but are disappearing fast". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2019-11-29). Climate change vulnerability assessment of forests and forest-dependent people: A framework methodology. Food & Agriculture Org. ISBN 978-92-5-131981-9.
- ^ "10 Women Scientists Leading the Fight Against the Climate Crisis". Global Citizen. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ "Aster Gebrekirstos (ICRAF)". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ O'Connell, Erin (2022-08-23). "Green water and flying rivers". CIFOR Forests News. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ Kindu, Mengistie; Schneider, Thomas; Wassie, Alemayehu; Lemenih, Mulugeta; Teketay, Demel; Knoke, Thomas (2022-01-12). State of the Art in Ethiopian Church Forests and Restoration Options. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-86626-6.
- ^ a b c "Gebrekirstos, Aster". TWAS. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ a b "Aster Gebrekirstos". Events at Global Landscapes Forum. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "IUFRO: Officeholder Aster Gebrekirstos Afwork / Who is Who". www.iufro.org. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ a b "Aster Gebrekirstos". Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ a b "TWAS elects 35 new TWAS Fellows". TWAS. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 2022-11-27.