Professional summary

Katrina's role at UKCEH focuses on investigating the impacts of ground-level ozone, an air pollutant that has negative effects on both humans and plants.

Before joining UKCEH, Katrina obtained a BSc in Zoology from the University of Glasgow (2006). She then worked for the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) before completing a PhD in conservation ecology at the University of East Anglia (2013). Katrina joined UKCEH in Bangor as a Research Associate in 2013 and has been a Spatial Data Analyst/ES Modeller since 2017. Her current role involves contributing to high quality research on the impacts of air pollution on vegetation, by collating spatial data — crop production, climatology — creating maps using GIS, Python and R of modelled data, and carrying out statistical analyses on experimental data. This allows her to highlight crops and regions most at risk from current levels of this damaging air pollutant. Katrina also coordinates the collation of records received from users of the UKCEH ozone injury smartphone app.

Additionally, she has worked with the ecosystem services modelling tool InVEST. Since 2020, Katrina has been the Head of the Programme Centre for ICP Vegetation, working alongside Felicity Hayes, the Chair of ICP Veg. This is an international research programme investigating the impacts of air pollutants on crops and (semi-) natural vegetation. It reports to the Working Group on Effects (WGE) of the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). Over 250 scientists from more than 50 countries around the world participate in the programme.

Selected publications

Karlsson Per Erik et al. , (2024), Ozone causes substantial reductions in the carbon sequestration of managed European forests. EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3742

Sharps K. et al. , (2024), Ozone pollution contributes to the yield gap for beans in Uganda, East Africa, and is co-located with other agricultural stresses. Scientific Reports, 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58144-1

Guarin Jose Rafael et al. , (2023), Modeling the effects of tropospheric ozone on the growth and yield of global staple crops with DSSAT v4.8.0. EGUsphere, http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1540

Pandey Divya et al. , (2023), Assessing the costs of ozone pollution in India for wheat producers, consumers, and government food welfare policies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120, http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2207081120

Sharps Katrina et al. , (2021), Quantifying the impact of ozone on crops in sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates regional and local hotspots of production loss. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 62338-62352, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14967-3

Dai Lulu et al. , (2021), Reduced photosynthetic thermal acclimation capacity under elevated ozone in poplar (Populus tremula) saplings. Global Change Biology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15564

Sharps Katrina et al. , (2021), Ozone-induced effects on leaves in African crop species. Environmental Pollution, 268, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115789

Holder Amanda et al. , (2020), Effects of tropospheric ozone and elevated nitrogen input on the temperate grassland forbs Leontodon hispidus and Succisa pratensis. Global Ecology and Conservation, 24, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01345

Hayes Felicity et al. , (2020), Ozone dose-response relationships for tropical crops reveal potential threat to legume and wheat production, but not to millets. Scientific African, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00482

Hayes Felicity et al. , (2020), Tropospheric ozone pollution reduces the yield of African crops. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 206, 214-228, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jac.12376