Professional summary

Laurence has over 28 years’ research experience with an international reputation in the areas of ecosystem services, pollution, and coastal ecology.

His work on ecosystem services concentrates on modelling the benefits that our natural capital provides to society, with a particular focus on urban systems. He has an interest in developing and improving ecosystem service models and the interactions between people and the environment that shape those benefits.

He oversees the cross-cutting theme of urban research in UKCEH. He has led work on ecosystem services modelling in seven European projects in collaboration with partners worldwide, and numerous UKRI funded projects for NERC, EPSRC and ESRC. He has helped develop natural capital accounts for urban ecosystem services covering air pollution removal, cooling, noise mitigation, tourism and water storage in the landscape, as well as developing damage costs for air pollution impacts on ecosystem services.

His coastal work spans ecological experiments and monitoring to guide the management and restoration of sand dunes, and water quality impacts on shellfish.

He presents his research internationally and nationally to scientists and policy makers. He has authored/co-authored >130 papers, including in Nature family journals, 16 book chapters and national/international assessments, and >135 reports. He has supervised 12 PhDs to completion, with a further 9 PhDs currently registered.

Web tools and apps

Laurence co-leads development of the City Explorer Toolkit https://www.ceh.ac.uk/city-explorer 

the air pollution removal tool https://shiny-apps.ceh.ac.uk/pollutionremoval/ 

and co-developed the Dynamic Dunescapes citizen science monitoring app

Selected publications

Jones Laurence et al. , (2022), A typology for urban green infrastructure to guide multifunctional planning of nature-based solutions. Nature-Based Solutions, 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100041

Jones Laurence et al. , (2022), Airsheds, watersheds and more – the flows that drive intra-extra-urban connections, and their implications for nature-based solutions (NBS). Nature-Based Solutions, 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100040

Fletcher David H. et al. , (2022), Location, location, location: modelling of noise mitigation by urban woodland shows the benefit of targeted tree planting in cities. Sustainability, 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14127079

Vesuviano Gianni et al. , (2025), How well does the 3–30–300 rule mitigate urban flooding?. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 104, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128661

Palmer Andrew K. et al. , (2023), Towards an understanding of quality and inclusivity in human‐environment experiences. Geography Compass, 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12723

Jones Laurence et al. , (2024), Economic value of the hot-day cooling provided by urban green and blue space. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 93, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128212

Jones Laurence et al. , (2021), Can we model cultural ecosystem services, and are we measuring the right things?. People and Nature, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10271

Abd-Elmabod Sameh Kotb et al. , (2024), Seasonal environmental cooling benefits of urban green and blue spaces in arid regions. Sustainable Cities and Society, 115, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105805

Owen Danial Wyn et al. , (2024), Opportunities and constraints of implementing the 3-30-300 rule for urban greening. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128393

Kumar Prashant et al. , (2024), Urban heat mitigation by green and blue infrastructure: drivers, effectiveness, and future needs. The Innovation, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100588