Faculty Profile

Dr. Mahmuda Sharmin

Professor

Contact Information

  • Office Address: Department of Forestry & Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
  • Phone: +8801671635120
  • Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Biography

Prof. Dr. Mahmuda Sharmin is committed to extending the understanding of how greenspaces can support multiple ecosystem services in urban areas, including mitigating heat and supporting biodiversity. Her research and professional experience reflect her commitment, notably through her involvement with "Which Plant Where" project, an Australian industry Hort innovation funded project (https://www.whichplantwhere.com.au/). She completed her PhD in Urban Ecology, titled "Urban vegetation: towards cooler, biodiverse cities of the future". She designed, led and executed multiple independent projects in Sydney, NSW, Australia and continues to do so in Bangladesh. This entailed working closely with city councils, Forest department, experts and researchers to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, aligning with SDG 11 and SDG 3.

Education

  • Ph.D. Hawkesbury Institute for Environment (HIE), Western Sydney University, Sydney
  • M.Sc. in Applied Ecology, Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
  • M.Sc. in Forestry, Dept of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh
  • B. Sc. in Forestry, Dept of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh

Research Interests

  • Urban Forestry
  • Functional Ecology
  • Vegetation Ecology
  • Plant Soil Interaction
  • Statistics

Active Research Project

  • 1. Urban Vegetation: Towards Cooler, Biodiverse Cities of the Future
  • 2. Shrubs and complex habitat structures help to boost invertebrate biodiversity in urban greenspaces
  • 3. Land use change driven climate change in Bangladesh. Funded by University Research Centre (URC), Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST), Bangladesh (2022-2023)
  • 4. Effect of air pollution, rising temperature and fluctuated precipitation on the growth of two major tree species of Bangladesh
  • 5. Urban trees are not equally distributed within Australian cities

External Affiliations

  • Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia

Journal Publications

  • 1. A nation-wide urban trial network of tree and shrub climate resilience (2025)
  • 2. Constructing, Mapping, and Analyzing Global Urban Forest Databases Using Hyperlinks: A World of Vast Unevenness and Research Challenges (2025)
  • 3. Socio-economic factors, climate, and people’s behaviours determine urban tree health (2025)
  • 4. Heat Impact of Urban Sprawl: How the Spatial Composition of Residential Suburbs Impacts Summer Air Temperatures and Thermal Comfort (2025)
  • 5. Climate and socio-economic drivers of urban tree abundance, richness and composition in Australian cities (2025)
  • 6. Urban greening with shrubs can supercharge invertebrate abundance and diversity (2024)
  • 7. Tree Traits and Microclimatic Conditions Determine Cooling Benefits of Urban Trees (2023)
  • 8. Tree crown traits and planting context contribute to reducing urban heat (2023)
  • 9. Are Diamond’s assembly rules applicable to tropical threatened vascular plants assemblages in the Tarap Hill Reserve in Bangladesh? (2020)
  • 10. India in the Oil Palm Era: Describing India’s Dependence on Palm Oil, Recommendations for Sustainable Production, and Opportunities to Become an Influential Consumer. (2019)
  • 11. Relationship between Diversity and Productivity at Ratargul Fresh Water Swamp Forest in Bangladesh (2016)
  • 12. Tree assemblages and diversity patterns in Tropical Juri Forest, Bangladesh (2015)
  • 13. Environmental correlates of vegetation distribution in tropical Juri forest, Bangladesh (2014)
  • 14. Disentangling the role of soil in structuring tropical tree communities at Tarap Hill Reserve of Bangladesh (2013)

Teaching

  • Forest Restoration Ecology (MSc. Course)
  • Forest Soil Management (MSc. Course)
  • Forest Ecology
  • Tree Physiology
  • Social Forestry and Forest Extension
  • Forest Botany
  • Forest Surveying

Awards & Recognition

  • Prime Minister Gold Medal Award
  • Erasmus Mundus Masters scholarship for The International Master in Applied Ecology
  • Hort Inovation Scholarship for Doctor of Philosophy