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University of Oxford
School of Geography and the Environment

 School of Geography and the Environment

Dr Mike Morecroft

Academic Profile

I am an ecologist, specialising in climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation. Since April 2009 I have been Principal Climate Change Specialist in the Evidence Team at Natural England, the national conservation agency for England. For 16 years before this, I worked for the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and its predecessor, the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.

My initial interest in climate goes back to my PhD (Cambridge, 1990) research on the way plants change with altitude on a mountain and how this reflects the effects of climate on growth in comparison to changing nutrient supply from the soil. I continue to enjoy being in the mountains, but my interests span a wide range of habitats. I have had a particular focus on woodlands since 1992, when I established a long-term monitoring programme under the UK Environmental Change Network at Wytham Woods just outside Oxford. This developed into a wider climate change research programme, including studies of tree ecophysiology, using a walkway, tower or mobile 'cherry picker' to get into the canopy itself. This research has advanced our understanding of the processes controlling carbon dioxide uptake and water loss by trees and how they respond to changing environmental conditions. My work on climate change has also used experimental and modelling approaches to identifying impacts on ecosystems and long-term monitoring has been a central component, a good example being the assessment of the effects of drought on contrasting habitats and species. It is important to understand climate change in a broader context of 'environmental change' and my publications have included work on the effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, changing management and rising woodland deer populations.

In recent years my work has increasingly shifted from studying the impacts of climate change to adaptation and mitigation. With this has come increasingly close work with policy makers and conservation practitioners and this is now a central part of my role at Natural England.

I have worked closely with Oxford University since 1992 and was based at the university's field station at Wytham for most of the 1990's. I have strong research links with Yadvinder Malhi and Pam Berry in the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) and have had several joint research students and grants on climate change related issues. I have taught on the Environmental Change and Management MSc since its inception and supervised various student dissertations.

I have been actively involved in wider academic life as treasurer of the British Ecological Society (2001-2004) and am currently a trustee of the Ecological Continuity Trust and a member of the ECN Scientific and Technical Advisory Group.

Current Research

My work at Natural England revolves around developing the evidence base for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the natural environment. Natural England has a wide remit, including running agri-environment schemes, advising government, managing nature reserves, ensuring the protection of conservation sites and landscapes and promoting public engagement with nature. We are in a unique position to develop and test adaptation and mitigation measures and one priority for me is to develop adaptation strategies, as we learn from experience. Other priorities include establishing what properties promote ecosystem resilience to climate change and quantifying carbon storage by semi-natural habitats. I continue to be involved in supervising or advising a number of more focused research projects, including the effects of fragmentation on carbon storage by woodlands in partnership with the ECI.

Selected Recent Publications (full list available on request)