Environment and Society

Sustainable Land Management

Research in this area links the analysis of biophysical processes, policy frameworks and their socio-cultural contexts in studies of rural and urban environments.
A new area of investigation led by Roy Haines-Young and his colleagues is the study of ecosystem services; this research builds on an established track-record for work that has focused on issues linking sustainable development and landscape and the monitoring and characterisation of change. Outputs from that have informed recent policy development include the 2007 report ‘Countryside Quality Counts: Tracking Change in the English Landscape’ strongly influencing UK policy. Members of the group are leading an ESRC/NERC Transdicsiplinary Seminar Series on Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being, which is also part-sponsored by Defra.
The work in this area of sustainable land management has been strengthened by the appointment Paul Nathanail, whose work on contaminated land addresses strategies issues related to land remediation, environmental decision support systems and risk assessment. This work also links to that of Mike Steven, who is leading some pioneering work involving the field-based study of contaminant bioaccessibility.
Jack Rieley is a Special Professor associated with the research theme. His work on Indonesian peat lands has shaped sustainability policy in the tropics, and made a major contribution to understanding the role of tropical peat lands in global carbon budgets.