Dr Laurence Jones

Plant Ecologist

Research interests

My research mainly focuses on impacts of air pollution and the effects of management in nutrient-poor (oligotrophic) habitats. This covers a range of pollutants including nitrogen (N) and ozone (O3), and a range of disciplines including field experimentation and modelling.

I have worked on critical loads of nitrogen (N) in grasslands for many years. This work has included field studies and controlled environment experiments on a range of vegetation communities, including upland acidic and calcareous grasslands, Racomitrium heath and more recently, sand dunes.

The work on sand dunes has been internationally important in establishing nitrogen deposition impacts on this community, and has contributed to critical loads documentation supporting the renegotiation of the Gothenburg Protocol.

Recently I have been developing a predictive model to assess the sensitivity of UK and European vegetation to ground level ozone pollution. This work also involves assessment of the interactive effects of ozone and nitrogen on semi-natural vegetation.

Another current project links nutrient enrichment (eutrophication) derived from terrestrial agriculture with effects on marine habitats in river mouths. Part of my contribution to this project uses the INCA model to link land use in four river catchments with nutrient fluxes entering the sea. The model will then be used to predict the effects of changing land use as a result of policy drivers (e.g. European Union Common Agricultural Policy reform) and natural forcings (e.g. climate change) and the subsequent effects on marine communities via stream-water chemistry.

I am also Union Chair of the Bangor branch of Prospect.

Brief CV

• 1996-present: Plant ecologist, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology's Bangor research site
• 1997-2005: Part-time PhD, University of Sheffield
• 1992-1993: MSc Ecology, University of Bangor    
  1989-1992: BA Honours Combined Studies, University of Newcastle     

Selected publications

See also the NERC Open Research Archive.

Plassmann, Katharina, Jones, M Laurence M, Edwards-Jones, Gareth. (2010) Effects of long-term grazing management on sand dune vegetation of high conservation interest. Applied Vegetation Science, 13 (1). 100-112. 10.1111/j.1654-109X.2009.01052.x

Plassmann, Katharina, Brown, Nigel, Jones, M Laurence M, Edwards-Jones, Gareth. (2009) Can soil seed banks contribute to the restoration of dune slacks under conservation management? Applied Vegetation Science, 12 (2). 199-210. 10.1111/j.1654-109X.2009.01014.x

Plassmann, Katharina; Edwards-Jones, Gareth, Jones, M Laurence M. (2009) The effects of low levels of nitrogen deposition and grazing on dune grassland. Science of the Total Environment, 407 (4). 1391-1404. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.10.012

Bussell, James A, Gidman, Eleanor A, Causton, David R, Gwynn-Jones, Dylan, Malham, Shelagh K, Jones, M Laurence M, Reynolds, Brian, Seed, Ray. (2008) Changes in the immune response and metabolic fingerprint of the mussel, Mytilus edulis (Linnaeus) in response to lowered salinity and physical stress. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 358 (1). 78-85. 10.1016/j.jembe.2008.01.018

Jones, M L M, Sowerby, A, Williams, D L, Jones, R E. (2008) Factors controlling soil development in sand dunes: evidence from a coastal dune soil cronosequence. Plant and Soil, 307 (1-2). 219-234. doi:10.107/s11104-008-9601-9

Gidman, Eleanor A, Jones, M Laurence M, Bussell, James A, Malham, Shelagh K, Reynolds, Brian, Seed, Ray, Causton, David R, Johnson, Helen E, Gwynn-Jones, Dylan. (2007) A methodology for screening haemolymph of intertidal mussels, Mytilus edulis, using FT-IR Spectroscopy as a tool for environmental assessment. Metabolomics, 3 (4). 465-473. 10.1007/s11306-007-0060-8

Mills, G, Hayes, F, Jones, M L M, Cinderby, S. (2007) Identifying ozone-sensitive communities of (semi-)natural vegetation suitable for mapping exceedance of critical levels. Environmental Pollution, 146 (3). 736-743. 10.1016/j.envpol.2006.04.005

Hayes, F, Jones, M L M, Mills, G, Ashmore, M.(2007) Meta-analysis of the relative sensitivity of semi-natural vegetation species to ozone. Environmental Pollution, 146 (3). 754-762. 10.1016/j.envpol.2006.06.011

Jones, M Laurence M, Hayes, Felicity, Mills, Gina, Sparks, Tim H, Fuhrer, J. (2007) Predicting community sensitivity to ozone, using Ellenberg Indicator values. Environmental Pollution, 146 (3). 744-753. 10.1016/j.envpol.2006.03.035

Jones, L, Bertrand, N. (2006) The challenge to apply thresholds, target and limit principles in a regional sustainability integrated assessment. Sensor Newsletter, No.4. 6.