Professional summary
Jill has a BSc degree in plant physiology from Stirling University (Scotland) and a PhD in plant ecology from the University of Liverpool. In 2009 she joined UKCEH as a senior plant ecologist, after several years living and working in tropical forests in Puerto Rico, Ghana and Brazil. Her main research focus is on forest ecology, plant community dynamics and factors that influence plant distribution, plant population dynamics and biodiversity, especially in tropical forest. This includes plant ecophysiology, ecosystem processes and the effect of human and natural disturbances. In Puerto Rico she was Director of the 16 ha Luquillo Forests Dynamics Plot for the Luquillo LTER (Long Term Ecological Research, USA) site and continues to collaborate with the LTER and ForestGeo (previously Center for Tropical Forest Science, CTFS), a network of large forest plots.
Jill has broad interests covering many aspects of plant ecology in all environments, and ecosystem services and conservation. Prior to the tropical research she studied plant populations growing on heavy metal contaminated soil, and worked for an environmental consultancy company in the UK. Jill is Vice President of the Botanical Society of Scotland (President from 2021-2023) and edits the Botanical Society newsletter. Jill is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (elected for services to tropical forest ecology), and a member of the British Ecological Society, Ecological Society of America, Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation, and International Institute of Tropical Foresters.