Publications

Dahlsjö CAL; Malhi Y (2024). Unravelling a hidden synergy: How pathogen-climate interactions transform habitat hydrology and affect tree growth.. Science of The Total Environment, 954, 176325..

Interactions between multiple global change stressors are a defining characteristic of the Anthropocene. Tree-associated pathogens are affecting forested ecosystems worldwide and occur in the context of increased frequency and intensity of extreme climate events such as heat waves, droughts, and floods. The effects of these events, along with subsequent changes in environmental conditions, on remaining and regenerating trees, are not well understood but crucial for the restoration and conservation of forested habitats.

Fixing ourselves to fix nature? Inner change as a neglected lever to tackle environmental crisis

Tom Oliver argues that our current fixes for the environmental crisis are often ineffective and even make things worse. Genuine solutions need to go beyond economic and technological ‘sticking plasters’ and require inner change.

Nature Seminar Series – Toward a General Theory Predicting Biodiversity and Ecosystem Responses to Global Change

Professor. Brian Enquist. University of Arizona

Developing a predictive science of the Biosphere and more powerful tests of biodiversity theories need to move beyond species richness, data driven approaches, and overly parameterized models to explicitly focus on mechanisms generating diversity via size and trait composition. The rise of scaling based theory and trait-based ecology has led to an increased focus on the distribution and dynamics of traits across broad geographic and climatic gradients and how these distributions influence ecosystem function. In this talk I will present a synthesis of trait-based and metabolic scaling approaches into a framework that we term ‘Trait Driver Theory’ or TDT.

The Nattergal Report on Stakeholder Engagement Best Practice for Landscape-scale Nature Recovery Projects – Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Nattergal Report on Engagement Best Practice for Landscape-scale Nature Recovery Projects. Developed for our Boothby Wildland Landscape Recovery project, and funded by DEFRA, the report was led by the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire and the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Agile Initiative projects at Oxford University, with the objective of establishing a framework for enhancing and embedding stakeholder engagement

The Nattergal Report on Stakeholder Engagement Best Practice for Landscape-scale Nature Recovery Projects

The Nattergal Report on Engagement Best Practice for Landscape-scale Nature Recovery Projects. Developed for our Boothby Wildland Landscape Recovery project, and funded by DEFRA, the report was led by the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire and the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Agile Initiative projects at Oxford University, with the objective of establishing a framework for enhancing and embedding stakeholder engagement

Landscape Connectedness Under Climate Change in Oxfordshire

Projected climate futures force us to rethink the way we approach nature. The concept of conservation breaks down as we are forced to consider a changing ecology, with new assemblages of species, and a shift from a relatively steady state to dynamic, continuous change. Our goal becomes the preservation of functioning natural systems, supporting the survival of species rather than the preservation of particular ecosystem types.

To what extent does this really change the way we manage nature in and around Oxfordshire? Humans have extensively modified the countryside, and crops, improved pastures and urban development have fragmented the landscape. In order to improve outcomes for nature, we have only a few simple options…

Ethan S. Duvall, Elizabeth le Roux, Heidi C. Pearson, Joe Roman, Yadvinder Malhi, and Andrew J. Abraham (2024). Resisting the carbonization of animals as climate solutions. Nature Climate Change.

Overstating wild animal roles in carbon capture may hinder, rather than facilitate, effective climate-mitigation and conservation efforts.

The two greatest environmental challenges of our time are global climate change and biodiversity loss, and it is attractive to look for synergies that can address both these challenges. This has generated support for nature-based solutions to climate change which, until recently, have largely focused on vegetation restoration and tree planting. However, there are increasing news stories circulating on how conserving and restoring large animal wildlife, such as elephants and whales, can absorb carbon and bring climate change mitigation benefits. This sounds very attractive: potential carbon could bolster much-needed funding for conservation and rewilding. What’s not to like?

In this opinion piece in Nature Climate Change we inject a voice of caution into this story. The science around wildlife providing climate benefits is generally weak and very context-dependent – in many cases animal wildlife like savanna elephants may reduce carbon stocks. Many widely reported studies are modelling studies which incompletely capture the many ecological processes at play – actual convincing field-based evidence is very rare – yet such studies get a disproportionate amount of media attention. We show there is very selecting media reporting of the minority of studies that suggest climate benefits of animal wildlife. There is a real danger that claimed climate benefits may not exist, leading to backlash and discrediting of otherwise creditable conservation and rewilding schemes when paid-for carbon benefits do not emerge. Many vibrant ecosystems such as savannas and grasslands can have lower carbon stocks than similar ecologically degraded ecosystems. And excessive focus on carbon can encourage bioperverse outcomes, such as reducing animal wildlife abundance where it is seen to negatively impact carbon stocks. There are both practical and moral dangers around excessive “carbonization” of wildlife that we need to be alert to.

Thomas B. White, Talitha Bromwic,h Ashley Bang, Leon Bennun, Joseph Bull, Michael Clark, E.J. Milner-Gulland, Graham W. Prescott, Malcolm Starkey, Sophus O.S.E. zu Ermgassen, Hollie Booth (2024). The “nature-positive” journey for business: A conceptual research agenda to guide contributions to societal biodiversity goals. One Earth.

Biodiversity is rising rapidly on the global agenda, prompting businesses to adopt the “nature-positive” framing, expressing a commitment to combat biodiversity loss and contribute to global nature recovery goals. However, realizing these ambitions requires transformative changes in business operations, which will be challenging given the uncertainties surrounding possible strategies and pathways. A research-driven approach for business action on biodiversity is vital to prevent unintended environmental and social consequences, but there is currently no coordinated research effort on this topic. Here, we present our vision of a conceptual framework for nature positive extending beyond individual business actions, encompassing processes that influence business involvement, a spectrum of sectoral strategies, and the need for impact measurement at various scales. We utilize this framework to propose high-priority research questions where we believe collaboration between researchers, consultants, and sustainability practitioners is needed to guide effective, feasible, and equitable action to protect and restore nature.

Richard J. Norby, Neil J. Loader, Carolina Mayoral, Sami Ullah, Giulio Curioni, Andy R. Smith, Michaela K. Reay, Klaske van Wijngaarden, Muhammad Shoaib Amjad, Deanne Brettle, Martha E. Crockatt, Gael Denny, Robert T. Grzesik, R. Liz Hamilton, Kris M. Hart, Iain P. Hartley, Alan G. Jones, Angeliki Kourmouli, Joshua R. Larsen, Zongbo Shi, Rick M. Thomas & A. Robert MacKenzie (2024). Enhanced woody biomass production in a mature temperate forest under elevated CO2. Nature climate change.

Enhanced CO2 assimilation by forests as atmospheric CO2 concentration rises could slow the rate of CO2 increase if the assimilated carbon is allocated to long-lived biomass. Experiments in young tree plantations support a CO2 fertilization effect as atmospheric CO2 continues to increase. Uncertainty exists, however, as to whether older, more mature forests retain the capacity to respond to elevated CO2.

Trisha Gopalakrishna, Piero Visconti, Guy Lomax, Esther Boere, Yadvinder Malhi, Parth Sarathi Roy, Pawan K. Joshi, Giacomo Fedele, Ping Yowargana (2024). Optimizing restoration: A holistic spatial approach to deliver Nature’s Contributions to People with minimal tradeoffs and maximal equity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Delivery of ecosystem restoration plans can lead to gains and losses of environmental and societal benefits, disproportionately impacting different groups of society. The tradeoffs and inequity can potentially be large when considering plans focused on a single benefit. Such information is especially lacking in tropical countries, such as India, that must balance local societal needs while delivering actions for ambitious global climate change and biodiversity goals. Here, we show that forest restoration schemes aimed at multiple objectives deliver most of the available benefits, implying minimal tradeoffs. Such schemes deliver benefits evenly across potential restoration areas, implying multiple land options for implementation. Lastly, these schemes are equitable as they deliver benefits to a large proportion of Indians who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Kumeh, E.M (2024). The political ecology of cocoa agroforestry and implications for equitable land use in rural Ghana.. Agroforest Syst.

The relevance of cocoa agroforestry is widely discussed in debates on sustainability transition in cocoa, especially in the context of ending hunger and poverty among cocoa farmers. Whereas this has led to multiple cocoa agroforestry investments by NGOs, governments, and cocoa and chocolate companies in West and Central Africa, a notable gap exists in the literature on how these interventions respond to the needs of cocoa farmers who are typically framed as the primary target of equity in cocoa sustainability discussions. This paper contributes to bridging this gap by analyzing equity in implementing various cocoa agroforestry projects by different actors in Ghana’s Juabeso-Bia Landscape (JBL)