Long-term Ecology
The history of biodiversity and ecosystems
We collect and analyse data spanning a wide range of temporal and spatial scales to understand the processes that underpin diversity, distribution and abundance of plants and animals across global landscapes in space and time.
Biodiversity & Conservation
Species and ecosystems
This evidence-base is then used to understand biodiversity baselines, the resilience of biological communities to various drivers of change, ecological risk associated with different landscapes, the effects of different aspects of biodiversity on human health (good and bad) and the impacts of different land-management practices over time on natural capital assets and ecosystem system flows.
Resource Stewardship Technologies
Tools to inform environmental descision making
Outputs from our work are disseminated through web-based tools and technologies, academic publications,policy briefings, workshops, conferences, and social media and we engage with a variety of stakeholders in industry, academia, the general public and governance to ensure our research achieves maximum societal as well as research impact.
Lab News
Vector Atlas Engagement and Partnership Meeting, December 2022
The Vector Atlas team is looking forward to welcoming representatives from over 15 African countries to the first Engagement and Partnership Meeting to be held at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Campus on Lake Victoria, Kenya, 5-9 December 2022. The aim of the meeting is to better understand the extent and breadth of malaria vector control challenges facing national and regional stakeholders across the continent so that the Vector Atlas outputs can be tailored to provide ... Continue reading
Seeing roots from space
A new study led by Dr Nicola Kühn during her DPhil associated with the lab titled “Seeing roots from space: aboveground fingerprints of root depth in vegetation sensitivity to climate in dry biomes” has been published in Environmental Research Letters. This paper finds a negative relationship between field-collected root depth data and remotely-sensed vegetation sensitivity to climate variability (developed in prior lab research, Seddon and Macias-Fauria et al 2016 Nature 531 229–32) and a positive relationship between root ... Continue reading
Vector Atlas Spatial Modelling Workshop, November-December 2022
We are excited to be holding the Vector Atlas Species Distribution Modelling Training Course at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Nairobi, Kenya, 30 November to 2 December 2022. The course trainers will be Vector Atlas team members, Prof. Nick Golding and Dr Gerry Ryan from the Telethon Kids Institute, and the aim is to develop research students’ ability to model spatial distributions of species from biased species occurrence data, i.e., where only occurrence data ... Continue reading
Vector Atlas at the 8th Annual PAMCA conference
The Vector Atlas team had a great time at the 8th Annual Pan-African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA) conference held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 26 to 28 September 2022. Excellent sessions, informative field trips and lively social events, plus the opportunity to meet with many colleagues again after COVID restrictions, meant the team had a busy time reconnecting with existing contacts and engaging with new collaborators. The Vector Atlas was showcased in a dedicated presentation by Dr Marianne Sinka on ... Continue reading
Vector Atlas Kick-off Meeting
The international Vector Atlas team gathered at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Duduville campus in Nairobi from 4 to 8 July 2022 to celebrate the launch of the project. The event brought together data and geospatial experts, spatial modellers and platform developers all of whom are involved in developing the new Vector Atlas. The launch event was a great success, allowing many participants to meet face to face for the first time. Over three upbeat and ... Continue reading
Research Blog
Globally important plant functional traits for coping with climate change
By Nicola Kühn on December 1, 2021
“Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived.” E.O.Wilson From the early Greek philosophical musings of Empedocles and Aristotle in the 4th and 5th century B.C., through the naturalist ... Continue reading
The value of systematic evidence synthesis for land use decision-making and practice
By Dr Gillian Petrokofsky on November 9, 2021
Systematic evidence syntheses were adopted in environmental management and conservation in 2006 “to promote and deliver evidence syntheses on issues of greatest concern to environmental policy and practice as a public service.” Since then, the tools developed within ... Continue reading
Do flying cows have to pay a carbon offset?
By Professor Katherine J. Willis on October 26, 2021
Last week I learnt an interesting fact relating to carbon offsets when flying – if you fly business class you need to pay x 2.5 more carbon offset because of the additional space that you take up. This made me ... Continue reading