Biography

Key people:

Andreas Heinemeyer (AH_homepage)

Andreas is an ecologist with a particular focus on linking plant and soil carbon fluxes to climate change. He has special expertise in carbon stock and flux measurements and modelling of soil carbon dynamics and also in using stable isotopes for carbon tracer studies. His major activity is field soil respiration measurements, understanding its component fluxes (i.e. mycorrhizal fungi), and improving the modelling of  terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics, especially forests and peatlands (he developed the MILLENNIA peatland model together with several students and other research staff).

Over the past 10 years his role within the CTCD/NCEO has been to coordinate the ground based carbon flux measurements and to explore the potential of using earth observation (EO) data for improved understanding of terrestrial carbon dynamic. Within the Defra grant (BD5104) his particular focus is on assessing management strategies of UK upland peatlands in relation to biodiversity, water quality and carbon dynamics (carbon dioxide and methane) and to further develop the MILLENNIA peat cohort model. He is increasingly interested in investigating linkages between soil related ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services as affected by management  and environmental change, including forests, agricultural and peatland areas.

Harry Vallack (HV_homepage)

Harry is an ecologist specialising in carbon dynamics of plant/soil systems, air pollutant emissions inventories, ambient dust pollution monitoring and issues relating to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Harry’s PhD was on the investigation of carbon dynamics in soil-plant systems using stable carbon isotope (13C) pulse-labelling techniques. This work involved helping to set up and deploy a unique mobile laboratory capable of continuously monitoring the CO2 concentrations and 13C:12C isotopic ratios of soil/plant respiration in the field.

He has produced an air pollutant emissions inventory preparation manual used for capacity building in developing countries. This has resulted in the compilation of emission inventories by countries in south Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and southern Africa (Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). In most cases, these are the first national air pollutant inventories ever produced by these countries. Harry also helped to develop the Frisbee Dust Deposit Gauge, now widely used in the UK, as well as devising "likelihood of nuisance guidelines" for monitored ambient dustfall. His POPs work involved writing the working paper for an international workshop on POPs and editing the final consensus report "Controlling persistent organic pollutants - what next?" Although Harry retired in 2020 from his SEI research, he is still interested in the peatland work and has contributed significantly to its success over the years. He will still be involved in writing up the science as publications.  

Tim Thom (YPP_homepage)

Is the peatland restoration research coordinator within the Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP) and enjoys being out and about on the fells. He certainly seems to readily brush off the wind and rain we are mostly exposed to! Although Tim resigned his PAG role in 2020, he is more than ever committed to the cause of peatland restoration and understanding the nitty-gritty of ecosystem processes. He is still a much valued co-supervisor on one of our NERC funded iCASE PhDs (Will Burn - soil microbes).

Our latest publications in relation to understanding management and climate impacts on UK upland blanket bog

M. Carroll, A. Heinemeyer, J. Pearce-Higgins, P. Dennis, C. West, J. Holden, Z. Wallage & C. Thomas (2015) Hydrologically-driven ecosystem processes determine the distribution and persistence of ecosystem-specialist predators under climate change. Nature Communication, 6: 7851. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8851 

A. Heinemeyer & G.T. Swindles (2018) Unraveling past impacts of climate change and land management on historic peatland development using proxy-based reconstruction, monitoring data and process modeling. Global Change Biology, 24(9): 4131-4142. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14298

P.A. Morton & A. Heinemeyer (2018) Vegetation matters: Correcting chamber carbon flux measurements using plant volumes. Science of the Total Environment, 639: 769–772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.192 

A. Heinemeyer, Q. Asena, W.L. Burn & A.L. Jones (2018) Peatland carbon stocks and burn history: blanket bog peat core evidence highlights charcoal impacts on peat physical properties and long-term carbon storage. GEO: Geography and Environment 5(2), e00063. https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.63 

A. Heinemeyer, Q. Asena, W.L. Burn, A.L. Jones & M.A. Ashby (2019) Response to: Comment on “Peatland carbon stocks and burn history: Blanket bog peat core evidence highlights charcoal impacts on peat physical properties and long-term carbon storage by Evans et al. GEO: Geography and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.78 

P.A. Morton & A. Heinemeyer (2019) Bog breathing: the extent of peat shrinkage and expansion on blanket bogs in relation to water table, heather management and dominant vegetation and its implications for carbon stock assessments. Wetlands Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-019-09672-5 

A. Heinemeyer, T.J. Sloan & R. Berry (2019) Assessing soil compaction and micro-topography impacts of alternative heather cutting as compared to burning as part of grouse moor management on blanket bog. PeerJ. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7298 

M.A. Ashby & A. Heinemeyer (2019a) Prescribed burning impacts on ecosystem services in the British uplands: a methodological critique of the EMBER project. Journal of Applied Ecology, 00:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13476 

M.A. Ashby & A. Heinemeyer (2019b) Whither scientific debate? A rebuttal of “Contextualising UK moorland burning studies: geographical versus potential sponsorship-bias effects on research conclusions” by Brown and Holden (bioRxiv 2019; 731117). https://ecoevorxiv.org/68h3w/ 

Heinemeyer A., Vallack H.W., Morton P.A., Pateman R., Dytham C., Ineson P., McClean C., Bristow C. and Pearce-Higgins J.W. (2019) with an Appendix by Richard A. Lindsay. Restoration of heather-dominated blanket bog vegetation on grouse moors for biodiversity, carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions and water regulation: comparing burning to alternative mowing and uncut management. Final Report to Defra on Project BD5104, Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, York,  UK. 

https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=17733

M.A. Ashby & A. Heinemeyer (2021) A critical review of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme’s “Burning and Peatlands” Position Statement. Wetlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-021-01400-1

J. Loisel, A.V. Gallego-Sala, M.J. Amesbury, ... A. Heinemeyer ... et al. (2020). Expert assessment of future vulnerability of the global peatland carbon sink. Nature Climate Change, 11: 70–77. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-00944-0

J.P. Ritson, D.M. Alderson, C.H. Robinson, A.E. Burkitt, A. Heinemeyer et al. (2021) Towards a microbial process-based understanding of the resilience of peatland ecosystem service provisioning – a research agenda. Science of the Total Environment, 143467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143467

M.A. Ashby & A. Heinemeyer (2021) A critical review of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme’s “Burning and Peatlands” Position Statement. Wetlands, 41:56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-021-01400-1

A. Heinemeyer & M.A. Ashby (2021) An outline summary document of the current knowledge about prescribed vegetation burning impacts on ecosystem services compared to alternative mowing or no management. https://doi.org/10.32942/osf.io/qg7z5 [Preprint not yet submitted]

A. Heinemeyer & M.A. Ashby (2021) Constructive criticism of “Misinterpreting carbon accumulation rates in records from near-surface peat” by Young et al.: Further evidence of charcoal impacts in relation to long-term carbon storage on blanket bog under rotational burn management https://doi.org/10.32942/osf.io/t4g3m (suppl. material: https://osf.io/jyc5u/) [Preprint submitted to Nature Scientific Reports as a Matters Arising; although supportive review comments were received it was not published by Nature]

A. Heinemeyer, R.H. Marrs, R.C. Chiverrell & M.A. Ashby (2021) Reasons to be cautious about “A cautionary tale about using the apparent carbon accumulation rate (aCAR) obtained from peat cores”. [Preprint submitted to Nature Scientific Reports as a Matters Arising]

M.S. Reed, D.M. Young, N.G. Taylor, R. Andersen, N.G.A. Bell, H. Cadillo-Quiroz, M. Grainger, A. Heinemeyer et al., G. Stewart (2022) Peatland core domain sets: building consensus on what should be measured in research and monitoring. Mires & Peat, 28:26. http://mires-and-peat.net/pages/volumes/map28/map2826.php 

C. Evans, R. Artz, A. Burden, H. Clilverd, B. Freeman, A. Heinemeyer, R. Lindsay, R. Morrison, J. Potts, M. Reed & J. Williamson. (2022) Aligning the Peatland Code with the UK Peatland Inventory Final SP0822 Report to Defra. https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectID=21088&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=peatland%20code&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10

C.H. Robinson, J.P. Ritson, D.M. Alderson, A.A. Malik, R.I. Griffiths, A. Heinemeyer, et al. (2023) Aspects of microbial communities in peatland carbon cycling under changing climate and land use pressures. Mires & Peat, 29:02. https://doi.org/10.19189/MaP.2022.OMB.StA.2404

A. Heinemeyer & M.A. Ashby (2023) Prescribed Fire in UK Heather-Dominated Blanket Bog Peatlands: A Critical Review of “Carbon Storage and Sequestration by Habitat: A Review of the Evidence (Second Edition)” by Gregg et al., 2021. Fire 2023, 6(5), 204. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6050204

A. Heinemeyer, T. David & R. Pateman (2023) Restoration of heather-dominated blanket bog vegetation for biodiversity, carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions and water regulation: comparing burning to alternative mowing and uncut management (2023). Final 10-year Report to the Peatland-ES-UK Project Advisory Group; University of York, York, UK. https://doi.org/10.15124/yao-2wtg-kb53

A. Heinemeyer (2023) Protecting our peatlands - short summary of the 10-year Peatland-ES-UK report. https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/protecting-our-peatlands-short-summary-of-the-10-year-peatland-es

A. Heinemeyer (2023) Protecting our peatlands. A summary of ten years studying moorland management as part of Peatland-ES-UK: heather burning compared to mowing or uncut approaches. https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/protecting-our-peatlands-a-summary-of-ten-years-studying-moorland

Previous general and peatland related publications

Heinemeyer A., S. Croft, M.H. Garnett, M. Gloor, J. Holden, M.R. Lomas & P. Ineson (2010). The MILLENNIA peat cohort model, predicting past, present and future soil carbon budgets and fluxes under changing climates in peatlands. Climate Research (Special Issue: Climate Change and the British Uplands) 45: 207–226. https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/cr/v45/p207-226/ 

Heinemeyer A., C. Di Bene, A.R. Lloyd, D. Tortorella, R. Baxter, B. Huntley, A. Gelsomino &  P. Ineson (2011). Soil respiration: implications of the plant-soil continuum and respiration chamber collar-insertion depth on measurement and modelling of soil CO2 efflux rates in three ecosystems. European Journal of Soil Sciences 62: 82-94. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2010.01331.x 

Heinemeyer A. & McNamara N.P. (2011). Comparing the closed static versus the closed dynamic chamber flux methodology: implications for soil respiration studies. Plant and Soil, 346: 145–151. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-011-0804-0 

Key literature:

More literature to be found here References

Anderson B.J., P.R. Armsworth, F. Eigenbrod, C.D. Thomas, S. Gillings, A. Heinemeyer, D.B. Roy & K.J. Gaston (2009). Spatial covariance between biodiversity and other ecosystem services. Journal of Applied Ecology 46: 888-896.

Bellamy P.H., P.J. Loveland, R. Ian Bradley, R. Murray Lark and G.J.D. Kirk (2005). Carbon losses from all soils across England and Wales 1978−2003. Nature, 437: 245-248.

Carroll M., Dennis P., Pearce-Higgins, J. & Thomas C. (2011). Maintaining northern peatland ecosystems in a changing climate: effects of soil moisture, drainage and drain blocking on craneflies. Global Change Biology, 17: 2991-3001.

Clark J.M., Billett M.F., Coyle M., Croft S., Daniels S., Evans C.D., Evans M., Freeman C., Gallego-Sala A.V., Heinemeyer A., House J.I., Monteith D.T., Nayak D., Orr H.G., Prentice I.C., Rose R., Rowson J., Smith J.U., Smith P., Tun Y.M., Vanguelova E., Wetterhall F. & Worrall F. (2010). Model inter-comparison between statistical and dynamic model 2 assessments of the long-term stability of GB blanket peat (1940-2099). Climate Research (Special Issue: Climate Change and the British Uplands) 45: 227–248

Clark J.M., Heinemeyer A., Martin P. ,Bottrell  S. (2012). Processes controlling DOC in pore water during simulated drought cycles in six different UK peats. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 109: 253-270.

Clutterbuck B. & Yallop A. (2010). Land management as a factor controlling dissolved organic carbon release from upland peat soils 2: Changes in DOC productivity over four decades. Science of The Total Environment, 408, 6179-6191.

Clymo R.S. (1984). The limits to peat bog growth. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B 303: 605-54.

Cox P.M., R.A. Betts, C.D. Jones, S.A. Spall and I.J. Totterdale (2000). Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model. Nature, 408: 184-87.

Critchley, N. et al. (in prep.) Condition Surveys of Upland Priority Habitats in England: blanket bog. ADAS draft rep. to Natural England.

Eigenbrod F., B.J. Anderson, P.R. Armsworth, A. Heinemeyer, S.F. Jackson, M. Parnell, C.D. Thomas & K.J. Gaston (2009). Ecosystem service benefits of contrasting conservation strategies in a human-dominated region. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 276, 2903–2911, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0528.

Garnett M. (1998) PhD thesis "Carbon storage in Pennine moorland and response to change". University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Hartley I.P., A. Heinemeyer, S.P. Evans & P. Ineson (2007). The effect of soil warming on bulk soil versus rhizosphere respiration. Global Change Biology 13: 2654-2667.

Heinemeyer A., S. Croft, M.H. Garnett, M. Gloor, J. Holden, M.R. Lomas & P. Ineson (2010). The MILLENNIA peat cohort model, predicting past, present and future soil carbon budgets and fluxes under changing climates in peatlands. Climate Research (Special Issue: Climate Change and the British Uplands) 45: 207–226.

Heinemeyer A., C. Di Bene, A.R. Lloyd, D. Tortorella, R. Baxter, B. Huntley, A. Gelsomino &  P. Ineson (2011). Soil respiration: implications of the plant-soil continuum and respiration chamber collar-insertion depth on measurement and modelling of soil CO2 efflux rates in three ecosystems. European Journal of Soil Sciences 62: 82-94.

Heinemeyer A. & McNamara N.P. (2011). Comparing the closed static versus the closed dynamic chamber flux methodology: implications for soil respiration studies. Plant and Soil, 346: 145–151.

Lindsay, R. (2010). Peatbogs and carbon: a critical synthesis. Report to RSPB. http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/Peatbogs_and_carbon_tcm9-255200.pdf.

Natural England (2010). England’s Peatlands: Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Storage. Natural England report NE257, Natural England, Sheffield.

O’Brien, H., Labadz, J. & Butcher, D. (2007). Review of Blanket Bog Management and Restoration: Technical Report to Defra (Project No. CTE0513), University of Nottingham.

Pearce-Higgins (2010). Using diet to assess the sensitivity of northern and upland birds to climate change. Climate Research, 45: 119–130.

Rogers, G.M. (1996). Control, demography, and post-control response of heather in the central North Island: Part 2. Science for Conservation: 29. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand.

Tarnocai C, Canadell JG, Schuur EAG, Kuhry P, Mazhitova G, Zimov S (2009). Soil organic carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 23.

Worrall F., Armstrong A., Adamson J.K. (2006).  The effects of burning and sheep-grazing on water table depth and soil water quality in an upland peat, Journal of Hydrology, 339, 1-14.