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I am broadly interested in understanding the different forces determining plant community assembly in tropical forests, using theoretical and empirical approaches from community ecology, functional ecology, and community phylogenetics. My research focuses on plant regeneration in both pristine and human-impacted landscapes from different tropical regions. Assessing patterns of plant recruitment in regrowing forests provides valuable insights into the consequences of landscape transformation and climate change, and enable prediction of forests responses to these global changes.

Natalia is involved in the following Foundation’s projects:

Academic background and experience

  • Academic background

    Biologist from the University Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris VI (France); Ph.D. in Ecology from the University Paul Sabatier (Toulouse, France)

  • Professional experience

    Assistant Profesor at the Javeriana University (Bogotá, Colombia; 2011-2013); Visitor Profesor at the Andes University (Bogotá, Colombia; 2009-2011); Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Connecticut (2009-2011).

  • Publications
      • Norden N, Letcher SG, Boukilli V, Swenson NG & Chazdon RL (2012) Demographic drivers of successional changes in phylogenetic structure across life-history stages in tropical plant communities. Ecology, 93, S70-S82.
      • Umaña MN, Norden N, Cano A & Stevenson P (2012) Community assembly in three types of rainforest in Colombia: Ecological and evolutionary processes. Plos One. 7.9: e45199
      • Norden N, Mesquita RCG, Bentos TV, Chazdon RL & Williamson GB (2011) Contrasting community compensatory trends in alternative successional pathways in central Amazonia Oikos, 120, 143-151.
      • Norden N, Chazdon RL, Chao A, Yi-Huei J & Vilchez-Alvarado B (2009) Resilience of tropical rain forests: tree community reassembly in secondary forests. Ecology Letters, 12, 385-394.
      • Norden N, Chave J, Riéra B, Viers J, Caubère A, Châtelet P, Ferroni N, Forget P-M & Thébaud C (2009) Interspecific variation in seedling responses to seed limitation and habitat conditions for 14 Neotropical woody species. Journal of Ecology, 97, 186-197.
      • Norden N, Daws MI, Antoine C, Gonzalez MA, Garwood NC & Chave J (2009) The relationship between seed mass and mean time to germination for 1037 tree species across five tropical forests. Functional Ecology, 23, 203-210.
      • Metz M, Comita L, Chen Y-Y, Norden N, Condit R, Hubbell SP, Sun IF, Noor MNS & Wright JS (2008) Temporal variability in seedling dynamics: A cross-site comparison in four lowland tropical forests. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 24, 9-18.
      • Norden N, Chave J, Belbenoit P, Caubère A, Châtelet P, Forget P-M & Thébaud C. (2007) Mast fruiting is a frequent strategy in tree and liana species of Eastern South America. PloS One 2(10): e1079. doi:10.1371/journal/pone/0001079.
      • Norden N, Chave J, Caubère A, Châtelet P, Ferroni N, Forget P-M & Thébaud C (2007) Is temporal variation of seedling communities determined by environment or by seed arrival? A test in a neotropical forest. Journal of Ecology, 95, 507-516.
      • Chave J & Norden N (2007) Changes in species diversity in a simulated fragmented neutral landscape. Ecological Modelling, 207, 3-10.