Group Overview
Our research interests span the fields of plant ecology, biodiversity, conservation management, restoration ecology, and palaeoecology. The key focus of our research group is the application of long-term ecological data to guide practical conservation and ecosystem restoration. Our work occurs largely at the interface between the disciplines of plant ecology and palaeoecology – applying palaeoecological research techniques (i.e. the analysis of fossil pollen, macrofossil plant remains, charcoal and PalEnvDNA), but with a focus on timescales directly relevant to specific issues in modern conservation (i.e. 100’s to 1000’s of years, rather than 10,000’s of years). This allows an understanding of the processes underlying the development of modern ecosystems and the services they provide and enables the design of more effective natural resource management and restoration programmes, as well as providing insight into broader ecological theory. We work in a wide range of ecosystems including temperate forests and peatlands, tropical islands, and permafrost environments, with research projects in the Galapagos Islands, Mauritius, UK, Pacific Northwest USA, southern Africa and Norway.