Dr Jeanette WhitakerEcologist
Research interests and expertiseCarbon cycling and carbon sequestration in soils; environmental sustainability of renewable energy; life cycle assessment of bioenergy and biofuels; effects of environmental stress on soil ecosystem structure and functioning Selected current projects1. Respiration in the Andes: Climate sensitivity of soil respiration (NERC 2010-2013)
The eastern flank of the Tropical Andes is the most biologically diverse region of the planet. This region is likely to warm by 3-5 ºC this century with likely consequences for ecosystem processes and biological diversity. The climatic vulnerability of the exceptionally large soil carbon stores in the region is very poorly documented and, as argued by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), understanding is urgently needed. The overarching goal of this project is to test the importance of variation in soil microbial community composition in constraining soil processes, particularly with respect to estimating changes in soil respiration (Rs) under climatic warming. 2. Microclimates: Impacts of Spatio-Climatic Variability on Land-Based Renewables (NERC Consortium grant 2010-2013) CEH at Lancaster and Glasgow University are collaborating in WP1 of this project with the principal aim of assessing the resilience of carbon sequestration and storage in carbon-rich landscapes to wind energy generation. We hypothesise that the presence of rotating turbines will alter air flow and turbulence over the land, thus creating a site-specific microclimate. This in turn, may affect carbon cycling processes in peatland ecosystems. To what extent changes in these parameters will affect carbon stocks, fluxes and sequestration is currently unknown. 3. Soil Carbon Sequestration Under Energy Crops (2008-2011)
This project, led by Niall McNamara at CEH's Lancaster research site, aims to deduce the carbon balance of energy crop plantations (miscanthus, willow SRC). Using these crops for bioenergy is generally considered carbon neutral; however, there are a number of uncertainties associated with the greenhouse gas balance of the cultivation of this crop. I will use data generated from this project to complete a Life Cycle Assessment of the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from this energy production chain.
Current PhD studentsHarriett Rea (2010-2013) “Do wind farms affect carbon sequestration in peatlands?” (Supervisor Nick Ostle (CEH), Co-supervisors Jeanette Whitaker (CEH), Prof. Susan Waldron (Glasgow University). Sean Case (2009-2012) “Assessing biochar for climate change mitigation in agri-ecosystems” (Supervisors Jeanette Whitaker, Niall McNamara CEH Lancaster; Dave Reay, Edinburgh University).
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Brief CV
Recent publicationsSee also the NORA Open Research Archive. Whitaker J., Ludley, KE., Rowe R, Taylor G, and Howard DC (2010). Sources of variability in estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and energy requirements for biofuel production. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, 2 (3), 99–112. Skea, J., Anandarajah G., Chaudry M., Shakoor A., Strachan N., Wang X. and Whitaker J. (2010). Chapter 4: Energy futures: the challenges of decarbonisation and security of supply. In: Energy 2050: Making the transition to a secure low carbon energy system. Eds. J. Skea, P. Ekins, M. Winskel, Earthscan, UK. Howard D, Jay B., Whitaker J, Talbot J., Hughes N, and Winskel M. (2010). Chapter 10: Not just climate change: other social and environmental perspectives. In: Energy 2050: Making the transition to a secure low carbon energy system. Eds J. Skea, P. Ekins, M. Winskel, Earthscan, UK. S.M..Smart, W.A. Scott, J. Whitaker, M.O. Hill, D.B. Roy, C.N.R. Critchley, L. Marini, C. Evans, B.A. Emmett, E.C. Rowe, A. Crowe, M. Le Duc and R.H. Marrs (2010). Empirical realized niche models for British Higher and lower plant – development and preliminary testing. Journal of Vegetation Science, 21(4), 643-656. Howard, D.C., Wadsworth, R.A., Whitaker, J., Hughes, N., Bunce, R.G.H (2009). The impact of sustainable energy production on land use in Britain through to 2050. Land Use Policy, 26S, S284-292. Whitaker, J., Chaplow, JC, Potter, E., Scott, W.A., Hopkin, S. Harman, M. Sims, I. and Sorokin, N., (2009). The comparative toxicity to soil invertebrates of natural chemicals and their synthetic analogues. Chemosphere. 76,. 345-352 K.E. Ludley, S.M. Jickells, P.M. Chamberlain, J. Whitaker and C.H. Robinson (2009). Distribution of monoterpenes between organic resources in upper soil horizons under monocultures of Picea abies, Picea sitchensis and Pinus sylvestris. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Volume 41(6), 1050-1059 Previous Research ProjectsUK Energy Research Centre (2004-2009) Topic leader, Environmental Sustainability theme. My research within this project focused on the environmental sustainability of a wide range of renewable and non-renewable energy technologies including biofuels for transport and biomass for heat and power. Recent work has focused on how life cycle assessment is used to assess the costs and benefits of transport biofuels in terms of the energy required to produce the fuels and the GHG emissions associated with their generation. I also contributed to the UKERC Energy 2050 project which demonstrated how the UK could move towards a resilient low-carbon energy system over the next 40 years. My role in this project was to define a key set of parameters describing the environmental impacts of the UK energy system going forwards to 2050, and quantify these parameters based on the results from modelling of scenarios for the UK Energy System (MARKAL model). Fate and influence of natural toxins in terrestrial ecosystems (American Chemistry Council, 2002-2006). This project increased knowledge on the fate and effects of plant produced natural toxins on soil ecosystem structure and functioning. The information generated was used to determine whether data on natural toxins could be used to predict the fate and effects of synthetic ecotoxins in the soil environment (collaboration with WRc-NSF; Jason Weeks and Neal Sorokin (PhD student). |
