Contact
Biography
I joined the school as a Teaching Associate in June 2023 following a post-doc position at NTU focused on global ecological assessment of blanket bogs, a type of rain fed peatland. Before this i completed my PhD in the School of Biosciences here at UON focused on the development and use of X-ray CT methods to investigate burrowing insect response to different root stimuli. Alongside my teaching responsibilities, my current research focus is urban soil ecosystem services and how to improve them through nature-based solutions, including a project investigating above and below ground carbon density in Nottingham. I am also intereested in human interactions/ public engagement with soil and soil conservation.
Teaching Summary
I teach on a range of modules across the School of Geography, including:
Research Tutorial (GEOG2030)
Planet Earth: Exploring the Physical Environment (GEOG1002)
Patterns of Life (GEOG2009)
Interpreting Geographical data (GEOG1004)
Techniques in Physical Geography (GEOG2003)
Project in Environmental Leadership and Management (GEOG4084)
Research Summary
My current research is concerned with human interactions with soil systems, assessing characteristics that dictate functionality for different ecosystem services, and determining anthropogenic… read more
Selected Publications
Current Research
My current research is concerned with human interactions with soil systems, assessing characteristics that dictate functionality for different ecosystem services, and determining anthropogenic impacts on these characteristics. I'm primarily concerned with Urban soil suitability for carbon storage and flood/rain water management, and the impacts of linear feature presence and use in temperate peatlands, with a focus on peat erosion and composition change.
My active research projects include:
Carbon assessment of the city of Nottingham- A City as Lab funded project (£5000 HEIF funding) to produce above and below ground carbon estimates and subsuquent density maps for the city of Nottingham, via soil sampling and citizen science recruitment. This project is in collaboration with the Green spaces and Natural Environment team at Nottingham City council.
Past Research
My PhD research focused on the development and use of X-ray CT methods for visualising wireworm behaviour in soil, and how burrowing response differs between stimuli, leading to changes in soil structure. Following this i worked as a geoscientist in a postdoc position focused on carbon variation at high resolution across 18 global sites of blanket bogs, as part of a wider ecological assessment of these habitats.
Future Research
In the future i plan to investigate the modification of urban soils to improve suitability for blue-green infrastructure through nature based solutions, and expand the Kinder Scout project to similar international sites.