Okieve Kerr is a Research Officer in the Applied Forest Research Branch at the Forestry Department, Jamaica. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Terrestrial and Freshwater Biology from The University of the West Indies, Mona. Over the past five years, his work has focused on tree growth and yield modelling, forest species population assessments, and field data collection to inform sustainable forest management.
He has also collaborated with international scientists on mangrove ecosystem assessments spanning Jamaica, Panama, Colombia, and Suriname, using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to estimate aboveground biomass. This research contributed to the publication “Laser Scanning identifies large trees as a major source of uncertainty in mangrove carbon accounting.”
At the SRC’s 32nd Science and Technology Conference, he will present “Cross-Sectional Height–Diameter Models for Swietenia macrophylla (British Honduran Mahogany) Across Jamaica: A Comparison of Nonlinear Growth Functions.” His presentation evaluates nonlinear functions for describing tree height–diameter relationships, with applications to national forest inventories and Forestry as a Business initiatives.
Beyond his research, Okieve is a mentor and published author whose books include a Teen Success Toolkit and children’s titles.
