Professional summary

Sam researches how environmental change affects plant and soil biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles across diverse systems, with a particular interest in plant-microbial interactions during ecological restoration. Current work examines land-use impacts on belowground communities and carbon and nutrient cycling in Malaysian rainforest and oil palm landscapes, tropical Panamanian forest and UK agroecosystems.

Before moving to UKCEH, Samuel was a Senior Research Associate investigating environmental impacts of energy system transition at Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University. He has a PhD in Environmental Science, focused on the impacts of tropical forest modification on soil microbial community attributes and function in Southeast Asia, from Lancaster University and Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Lancaster, an MSc in Ecology & Conservation from Lancaster University and a BA (Hons) Fine Art: Painting from University of the Arts London.

Selected publications

Robinson Samuel J.B. et al. , (2025), Soil microbial community responses to active and passive restoration of selectively logged Bornean tropical forest. Frontiers in Microbiology, 16, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1570294

Marsh Charles J. et al. , (2025), Tropical forest clearance impacts biodiversity and function, whereas logging changes structure. Science, 387, 171-175, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf9856

Robinson Samuel et al. , (2024), Selective logging impacts on soil microbial communities and functioning in Bornean tropical forest. Frontiers in Microbiology, 15, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1447999

Carvalho Fabio et al. , (2023), Towards a standardized protocol to assess natural capital and ecosystem services in solar parks. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 4, https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12210

Robinson Samuel J.B. et al. , (2020), Soil fungal community characteristics and mycelial production across a disturbance gradient in lowland dipterocarp rainforest in Borneo. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00064

Elias Dafydd M.O. et al. , (2020), Soil microbial community and litter quality controls on decomposition across a tropical forest disturbance gradient. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00081

Elias Dafydd M.O. et al. , (2020), Effects of Leucaena biochar addition on crop productivity in degraded tropical soils. Biomass and Bioenergy, 142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2020.105710

Other Publications

Robinson, Samuel J.B. et al., (2015), Factors influencing early secondary succession and ecosystem carbon stocks in Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Biodiversity and Conservation, 24,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0982-9