Shawkat Sohel is a Research Fellow at the Forest Research Institute (FRI), University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), where he contributes to an ARC Future Fellowship funded project. Shawkat Sohels research encompasses a wide range of topics, including ecohydrology (forest-water nexus), socio-ecological system analysis, ecological disturbance modelling, species distribution modelling, remote sensing applications in ecology, ecosystem services, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and tropical forest management.
In the Forest Restoration and Climate Experiment (FoRCE) project, Shawkat Sohel integrate tree and vine biomass data with remote sensing variables to analyse and model the complex interactions between trees, lianas, and climate factors. This research aims to assess the regional influence of forest disturbances, such as vines, on forest biomass dynamics and successional pathways. A key focus is identifying the tipping point of forest disturbances beyond which forest biomass recovery slows or halts.
Before joining UniSC, he was actively involved in teaching at the Department of Environmental Science and Management at North South University (NSU) in Bangladesh.
Awards and Membership
- IPRS, UQ for PhD
- Erasmus Mundus fund for MSc in Ecohydrology
- SAFS RHD Travel Award, The University of Queensland, Australia
- Research Grant from WET TROPICS management Authority.
- HILIP, LGED (Bangladesh) fund to examining the Ecological Dynamics of Reforestation at Landscape Level for Strengthening Resilience
- Developing competence in systematic reviews and meta-analysis of archival/historical accounts of urban forestry in Bangladesh. Funding agency – Compass Program, U.S. Forest Service.
- Member of British Ecological Society