Thomas Parker

Research

Peatland Carbon Loss and Restoration

Eroding blanket bog peatlands are losing large amounts of carbon, both directly as greenhouse gas emissions and as eroded sediment that is later lost to CO2 downstream. I am leading a research programme on the loss of particulate organic carbon (POC) from peatlands and the factors that determine its decomposition. I am also leading research on the impact of peatland restoration on peatland carbon losses

Planting and natural regeration of trees on organic rich soils 

Tree planting and ‘rewilding’ of the Scottish uplands is high on the environmental agenda, my interest is is how these practices impact belowground processes and thw wider carbon cycle. I use a combination of DNA-based and process-based approaches to understanding soil ecology.

Plant-soil interactions in a greening Arctic

As the arctic climate warms, tall shrubs are expanding north into the tundra. My research has focussed on understanding how these changes in tundra plant community will impact carbon cycling in the soil. Acrtic soils represent one of the largest global stores of carbon and a major question I aim to answer is how the increasing plant activity in the tundra will affect this soil carbon store. I am a Co-investigator in a NERC-funded project with the Universities of Stirling of Edinburgh with Project Partners at the Swedish Agricultural University on the role of different fungi in the decomposition of soil carbon in the Arctic.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Louis Mielke – NERC 3.5 Year project- Turbo-charging the mycorrhizosphere – could more productive ecosystems threaten soil carbon stocks in boreal and sub-arctic zones of transition? [‘MYCONET’] Co-I with Philip Wookey (University of Stirling), Lorna Street (University of Edinburgh) and Andy Taylor (Hutton)

PhD Students (Current)

Naomi Housego – The impacts of colonisation by trees on moorland soil carbon stocks. Co-supervised with Ruth Mitchell (Hutton), Lorna Street (University of Edinburgh) and Elena Vanguelova (Forest Research)

Ruth Helmore – The Resilience of Sphagnum and ecosystem function to drought events in peatlands. Lead supervisor with Jens-Arne Subke (University of Stirling), Rebekka Artz (Hutton) and Renée Kerkvliet-Hermans (IUCN Peatland Progamme)

PhD Students (Past)

Will Pallier – Linking microbial physiology to carbon cycling in peatlands of varying land use history. Co-supervised with Ashish Malik (formally University of Aberdeen), Rebekka Artz (Hutton) and Roxanne Anderson (University of the Highlands and Islands)

Past research

Ecophysiology of peatland plant species

My previous work in the tundra of Alaska focused on the ecology and adaptation of arctic plants, in particular Eriophorum vaginatum (tussock cottongrass). The climate in the Arctic is warming faster that anywhere else on earth and his research indicates that arctic plants may struggle to keep up with this change.