
Reader
- About
-
- Email Address
- s.woodin@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272688
- Office Address
Cruickshank 1.09
- School/Department
- School of Biological Sciences
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
-
Chair of School of Biological Sciences Curriculum Committee
- External Memberships
-
2013: NERC BESS Panel member.
2010-2014: University of Nottingham, External Examiner Environmental Science
2001/2 & 2010: UN ECE International Workshop on Critical Loads of Nitrogen: member of scientific review panel.
2003 & 2008: University of Sussex, External Assessor, Review of Biology
1999-2002: National Expert Group on Transboundary Air Pollution, member.
- Research
-
Research Overview
My research interests are in the effects of drivers of change on native plant species, vegetation communities and ecosystem process in the British uplands and the Arctic. I am involved in projects investigating ecological impacts of climate change, herbivory, land management practices and atmospheric nitrogen deposition, often in interaction with each other. The processes studied range from the ecophysiology of individual species, through vegetation processes and inter-trophic interactions to ecosystem nutrient and carbon dynamics, and a common theme is the functional importance, and sensitivity, of bryophytes within the ecosystem. Much of my research in Scotland in conservation based, undertaken in collaboration with Scottish Natural Heritage, and seeks to provide a scientific basis for conservation policy and management.
Current Research
Recovery of high Arctic tundra vegetation and carbon stocks from nitrogen deposition.
Role of bryophytes in the phosphorus cycle of Arctic and mountain heath.
Interactions between moss and mycorrhizas.
Effects of herbivory on upland grassland carbon dynamics.
Effects of moorland degradation and restoration on carbon sequestration.
Long term vegetation change in the Scottish Highlands.
Arctic habitat utilisation by breeding geese.
Funding and Grants
Recovery of arctic tundra from nitrogen deposition. NERC, 2011.
Cairngorms Rare Plant Project. SNH, Esmee Fairburn Foundation & Cairngorms National Park Authority. 2010-2013.
The extent and bryophyte diversity of Atlantic bryophyte-rich dwarf-shrub heaths in the uplands. SNH, 2009-2013.
Managing upland heaths for carbon sequestration. SNH, £48,000, 2008-2011.
Fifty years of vegetation change in the Scottish Highlands. SNH, 2007-2010 (with Dr A Hester, Prof J Birks)
Potential for recovery of degraded montane heath. SNH, 2006-2009 (with Dr A Britton, Dr I Pearce, Dr R van der Wal)
Do herbivores decrease tundra carbon sink strength by reducing the moss layer? NERC, 2005 (with Dr R van der Wal & Dr M Sommerkorn)
FRagility of Arctic Goose-dominated ecosystems: Impacts of Land management in Europe (FRAGILE). CEC, 2003-2006
Experimental investigation of management requirements for small cow wheat. SNH, 2002-2005 (with Dr W. Seel)
Biological exceedence of the critical load of nutrient nitrogen in the UK. DEFRA & SNH, 2001
Recovery of arctic heath from nitrogen deposition. BES, 2001
Recovery of arctic heath from nitrogen deposition. CEC TMR, 2000.
Terrestrial effects of Acid Pollutants: Impacts of N deposition on critical loads for deep peats. NERC, 1998-2001 (with Prof M Cresser)
Effects of acidic deposition on arctic bryophytes. NERC, 1998.
Effects of acidic deposition on arctic bryophytes. CEC TMR, 1998.
History, current status and genetic distinctiveness of dwarf juniper heath. SNH, 1997-2000.
N use by Salix and Dryas in the high Arctic: impact of atmospheric N deposition. NERC, 1994-1997 (with Prof I Alexander).
Interactions between organisms at community boundaries in the uplands in conditions of environmental change; importance of root competition, including mycorrhizal effects. NERC TIGER, 1993-1998, (with Prof I Alexander & Dr C Mullins).
- Teaching
-
Teaching Responsibilities
Level 5 Plant Ecology (Course Coordinator)
Level 2 Diversity of Life (Course Coordinator)
Level 1 Ecology and Environmental Science
contributions to:
Level 5 Ecology and Society
Level 3 Plant-Animal Interactions
Level 1 Introduction to Biology
Honours Ecology Degree Coordinator
- Publications
-
Page 1 of 8 Results 1 to 10 of 75
Wildfire impacts on seedbank and vegetation dynamics in Calluna heath
Nordic Journal of Botany, vol. 2023, no. 6, e03937Contributions to Journals: ArticlesResampling alpine herbarium records reveals changes in plant traits over space and time
Journal of EcologyContributions to Journals: ArticlesIntegrating Ecological Stoichiometry to Understand Nutrient Limitation and Potential for Competition in Mixed Pasture Assemblages
Journal of soil science and plant nutrition, vol. 21, pp. 2489–2500Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSoil organic carbon and nitrogen pools are increased by mixed grass and legume cover crops in vineyard agroecosystems: Detecting short-term management effects using infrared spectroscopy
Geoderma, vol. 379, 114619Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHigh-throughput, image-based phenotyping reveals nutrient-dependent growth facilitation in a grass-legume mixture
PloS ONE, vol. 15, no. 10 October, e0239673Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239673
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Legacy effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on vegetation and carbon stocks of upland heaths
New Phytologist, vol. 228, no. 1, pp. 226-237Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16671
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/15106/1/vanPaassen_etal_NP_Legacy_effects_VOR.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Two decades of altered snow cover does not affect soil microbial ability to catabolize carbon compounds in an oceanic alpine heath
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol. 124, pp. 101-104Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.05.034
Phosphorus Availability Determines the Response of Tundra Ecosystem Carbon Stocks to Nitrogen Enrichment
Ecosystems, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 1155-1167Contributions to Journals: ArticlesCervid Exclusion Alters Boreal Forest Properties with Little Cascading Impacts on Soils
Ecosystems, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 1027-1041Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-017-0202-4
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/11425/1/MS_revision2_Strong_effects_of_cervid_exclusion_for_ECOSYSTEMS.docx
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/11425/2/Supplementary_Information_for_Cervid_exclusion_alters_boreal_forest_properties_with_little_cascading_impact_on_soil.docx
Accelerated increase in plant species richness on mountain summits is linked to warming
Nature, vol. 556, pp. 231-234Contributions to Journals: Articles