Gisel Garza
Mentor since: 2022
Mentees: Alexa Escobedo, Faith Chua
Field of expertise: Seed Collection, Seed Banking, Climate Change, Species Distribution Models, Geographic Information Systems
Short biography:
Gisel Garza directly supports reforestation efforts in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas by participating in seed collection, processing, seed banking, and planting of important native species. Garza graduated from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with a master’s degree in biology. Her focus was on conducting research that addresses global change issues such as climate and land use change to contribute to conserving endangered species of the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico. She’s published two papers related to the endemic endangered species Walker’s Manihot, and has presented research at multiple local, regional, and national conferences. As a student, she was part of TACFSA and focused on research related to Citrus Greening Disease with Dr. Teresa Patricia Feria and Jon Dale as mentors.
Summary of research projects:
The Rio Grande Valley is home to the Thornforest ecosystem, a highly biodiverse migratory region for wildlife. Less than 10% of original habitat remains, and Thornforest restoration has been ongoing for about 40 years using a variety of plant species for restoration primarily in abandoned agricultural lands in the RGV’s four counties. Recent years have seen unexpected weather phenomena in this region as a potential result of climate change such as long freezing events, droughts, and extremely high temperatures. Thornforest plants are adapted to the region’s climate, with most having flowering and fruiting cycles that correlate with precipitation throughout the year. Research that TACSFA students have worked on is related to how climate could be affecting seed collection of Thornforest species used in restoration. Alexa Escobedo focused her research on Texas Ebony, a Thornforest keystone species who saw its usual seed collection window shift from one year to the next, we hypothesize this is a result of the 2021 weeklong freeze that offset the phenology of several species. Faith Chua focused her research on comparing seed viability, the ability for a seed to germinate and grow into a seedling, between seeds from Texas Persimmon fruits that had been exposed to apparent high heat and drought conditions in the field with fruits of the same species that appeared less affected by heat and drought.
Website: https://www.americanforests.org/
American Forests
Email: gg.garza@americanforests.org
Phone: (956) 318-2915