Professional summary

Ed has many years’ experience in soil and plant ecology research, including empirical work on nutrient cycling, and model design, development and application. His focus is on predicting ecosystem responses to anthropogenic drivers, particularly atmospheric nitrogen pollution, in terms of soil organic matter dynamics, plant productivity, and plant species composition. He is particularly interested in what limits plant production and soil carbon accumulation across a variety of ecosystems.

He designs and applies dynamic models of soil and vegetation processes, such as the MADOC model which predicts the result of feedbacks between dissolved-organic-carbon leaching and soil pH, and consequences for greenhouse gas exchange, acidification and water quality. Aeration is a key control on decomposition, and Ed is investigating simple mechanistic treatments of macro- and micro-scale anaerobiosis in soil models, and the application of simple measurement methods such as rusting-bars.

Ed is head of the UK National Focal Centre for Modelling and Mapping of Exceedances of Critical Loads and Critical Levels, which generates statistics on air pollution impacts for use by the UK and DA governments. Here he is on his brother's vlog on YouTube, talking about nitrogen pollution impacts on ecosystems. 

Selected publications