Forests, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research stories: How to (almost) double woodland carbon overnight

How much carbon is stored in the aboveground biomass (AGB) of Wytham Woods aka the ‘most studied forest in the world’? Professors Mat Disney and Kim Calders thought this would be very well-known but were surprised to find this perhaps wasn’t the case after all. They discuss how their team approached their latest research. Over the years, a number of studies have estimated the carbon … Continue reading Research stories: How to (almost) double woodland carbon overnight

AER | ESEDecember 20, 2022January 17, 20233 Comments

Careers, In Focus, Journal news

Meet our new Blog Associate Editor: Valentine Seymour

We are delighted to announce two new Blog Associate Editors who have joined The Applied Ecologist team! In this post, find out more about one of our new recruits, Valentine Seymour. Hello. I’m Valentine, one of the new Blog Associate Editor’s for The Applied Ecologist. I currently live on the edge of the North Downs in Kent, UK and am a Research Fellow, a Knowledge … Continue reading Meet our new Blog Associate Editor: Valentine Seymour

valentineseymourDecember 9, 2022December 12, 20226 Comments

Agriculture, Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries, Translation

De relatie tussen oogstvermindering en begrazingsdruk door ganzen – implicaties voor beheer

Nelleke Buitendijk bespreekt het nieuwste onderzoek van haar team uit het nieuw verschenen artikel. Hoogtepunten zijn onder meer dat het verminderen van de overvloed aan herbivoren zich mogelijk niet direct vertaalt in een verminderd opbrengstverlies en dat beheersinstrumenten met zorg moeten worden gebruikt. Continue reading De relatie tussen oogstvermindering en begrazingsdruk door ganzen – implicaties voor beheer

Journal of Applied EcologyDecember 8, 2022January 19, 20234 Comments

Agriculture, Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries

The relationship between yield loss and goose grazing pressure – implications for management of wild herbivores

This post is also available in Dutch here. Nelleke Buitendijk discusses a newly published study from her and her colleagues on the impact of grazing on agricultural grasslands. Highlights include that decreasing herbivore abundance may not directly translate to a decreased yield loss, and that management tools should be used with care. Grazing by geese can cause a lot of damage to agricultural crops. Goose … Continue reading The relationship between yield loss and goose grazing pressure – implications for management of wild herbivores

Journal of Applied EcologyDecember 8, 2022January 19, 20235 Comments

Agriculture, Research summaries

Farmstead modernization affects farmland birds

Martin Mayer and Martin Šálek take us through their latest research into how old ‘messy’ farmsteads may actually be bird hotspots and how modernization changes this. Old cow sheds are a great place for farmland birds. There are many cracks, corners and beams in these old brick buildings where birds can build their nests. The bedding material for the cows is straw or hay, and … Continue reading Farmstead modernization affects farmland birds

Journal of Applied EcologyDecember 1, 2022January 19, 20233 Comments

Citizen science, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research stories: Strava, GBIF and Citizen Science

Lead author Caitlin Mandeville recalls how she and her co-authors kept their focus close to home in their latest research that explores connections between citizen science and recreation in natural areas. Just about every community has some small, unassuming natural areas that are mainly known to locals: a neighbourhood park, a small wildlife preserve, a field on the edge of town. These places might not … Continue reading Research stories: Strava, GBIF and Citizen Science

AER | ESENovember 8, 2022October 27, 20223 Comments

Monitoring and methods, Practitioners, Research summaries

Making optimal adaptive management accessible to everyone

Author Sam Nicol describes his team’s latest research developing a new model to help managers easily identify and employ adaptive management interventions to protect threatened species. Adaptive management—what’s the problem? Adaptive management has been the coolest thing in conservation for almost 40 years – everyone wants to do it. Way back in the ‘80s, the elegant seminal formulations by Hollings and Walters proposed that conservation … Continue reading Making optimal adaptive management accessible to everyone

AER | ESENovember 1, 2022October 24, 20222 Comments

Agriculture, Forests, Practitioners, Research summaries

From the ground up: Understanding coffee agroforestry systems

Sarah Archibald describes her team’s latest research seeking to better understand emergent herbaceous communities in organic coffee agroforestry systems by identifying their taxonomic and functional diversity as well as their management by interviewing farmers in Costa Rica. Coffee agroecosystems range in management and diversity, from monocultures with chemical inputs to biologically complex multi-strata agroforestry systems. With the demand for organic coffee expected to increase by … Continue reading From the ground up: Understanding coffee agroforestry systems

AER | ESEOctober 25, 2022October 20, 2022Leave a comment

Careers, The Applied Ecologist community

Damilola Olanipon: Navigating through the odds – the experience of a female early career researcher in Nigeria

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Damilola Olanipon—an early career researcher at Afe Babalola University, Nigeria—shares her story below. I was brought up by a single mother and, gaining admission … Continue reading Damilola Olanipon: Navigating through the odds – the experience of a female early career researcher in Nigeria

Journal of Applied EcologyOctober 21, 2022October 19, 20223 Comments

Careers, The Applied Ecologist community

Mthokozisi Moyo: Accidental Ecologist to Seasonality “expert”

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Mthokozisi Moyo – at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa – shares his story below. How did you get into ecology? My name is Mthokozisi Moyo … Continue reading Mthokozisi Moyo: Accidental Ecologist to Seasonality “expert”