My current research focuses on developing functional approaches for assessing the plant and invertebrate biodiversity of arable ecosystems. Arable weeds, including many of the rare species, are increasingly seen as an important source of biological diversity, and are crucial to the functioning of arable systems. The severe depletion of arable biodiversity through agricultural intensification has important implications for system function. My research includes the development and application of monitoring protocols for characterising arable seedbank, plant and invertebrate communities. These are used to assess the impact of changes in arable management and cropping patterns on functional diversity which is essential for sustainable crop production.
My other main role at the Institute is co-ordinator for the Centre for Sustainable Cropping: a long-term platform for arable sustainability research. The overall goals are to test whether potential solutions for sustainable agriculture actually result in improved arable biodiversity, resilience, crop productivity and yield stability at a field-scale and over at least four rotation cycles. To do this, we are designing a sustainable cropping system that optimises inputs, yield, biodiversity and ecosystem processes. This ‘sustainable’ system is tested by comparison with current commercial practice. The platform will provide a resource for inter-disciplinary collaboration, and a demonstration site for knowledge transfer and education activities.
I am a key staff member leading Integrated Pest and Disease Management (IPM) research at the Institute. For details of ongoing IPM research areas and projects, please visit the IPM@hutton [1] website.
Research Career
I am an ecologist in the Ecological Sciences Programme at The James Hutton Institute, studying arable management impacts on plant and invertebrate biodiversity and agro-ecosystem function. Apart from ecological research, my other main role is Co-ordinator for JHI's Centre for Sustainable Cropping at Balruddery Farm. Prior to this, I was the Associate Programme Leader for SCRI's Environmental Management and Biotechnology program (2002-2005) and Co-ordinator on the Defra funded Farm-Scale Evaluations of Genetically Modified Herbicide Tolerant Crops (2000-2003). Before that, I conducted a PhD between Forest Research and the University of Sussex on the community ecology of predatory insects which followed from the Forestry Commission’s Biodiversity Research Programme.
Links:
[1] http://ipm.hutton.ac.uk/
[2] http://www.scri.ac.uk/research/epi/FarmScaleEvaluationsOfGMHerbicideTolerantCrops