Leonardo da Fonte

Email: L.Da-Fonte@liverpool.ac.uk

Previous Education

BSc, Biology, University of Porto

MSc, Ecology, Environment & Territory, University of Porto

Thesis Title

Trait based analysis of wood anatomy as a proxy for the reconstruction of past environment and climate change

Supervisors

Dr. Eleni Asouti (primary supervisor) & Dr. Ceren Kabukcu & Dr. Alan Crivellaro

Research Summary

My research seeks to create a better understanding of past climates through the analysis of microscopical characters preserved in the charcoal found in archaeological sites. It focuses on obtaining rigorous quantitative anatomical data from collected samples of modern wood, sourced from sites with well-characterized climate data, and comparing these data with charcoal from a diachronous archaeological assemblage, permitting an extrapolation of the best characters for climate reconstruction.

Research Interests

Archaeobotany, Environmental Archaeology, Vegetation history, Functional Ecology, Vegetation Ecology, Wood anatomy, Plant anatomy, Plant development, Dendrology, Biostatistics.