Scott J Davidson, PhD
I am a Lecturer in Ecosystem Resilience at the University of Plymouth, UK. I completed his undergraduate degree in Geography at the University of Dundee, UK in 2012 and his MSc in Polar and Alpine Change at the University of Sheffield, UK in 2013. In 2017 I was awarded my PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK, looking at greenhouse gas emissions from arctic tundra landscapes in Alaska. My research is focused on the resilience of peatland and wetland ecosystems to both climate change and disturbance regimes. My research combines field research, laboratory analysis, remote sensing and modelling approaches to better constrain spatio-temporal dynamics of wetland ecosystems. I have nearly a decade’s experience working in northern latitude ecosystems in both Europe and North America. Since 2016, I have published over 20 publications in a variety of high impact journals with > 450 citations to date. I am currently the Group Lead for the Plymouth Peatland Research Group and a co-founder of both the Wet Woodland Research Network and PEAT: Peatland ECR Action Team, which connects early career peatland scientists globally to develop a diverse, inclusive, and supportive research community.
Curriculum vitae
PhD Students
Lead supervisor:
Emma Duley (incoming October 2023)
The Wetter the Better? Understanding wet woodland carbon dynamics in the Anthropocene (ARIES DTP)
(Co-supervisors: Dr Thomas Roland, University of Exeter, Dr Alice Milner, Royal Holloway University of London and Dr Jessie Woodbridge, University of Plymouth)
Co-supervision:
Kate Vogiatzis (2019-2023)
Long-term recovery of tropical forest carbon and diversity after fire and logging
(Lead supervisor: Dr Sophie Fauset, University of Plymouth)
Natasha Underwood (2021-2024)
Ecological and biogeochemical benefits of environmental enhancements at Moorlinch on the Somerset Levels
(Lead supervisor: Dr Paul Lunt, University of Plymouth)
Izadora Kervin (2023-2029: Part Time)
Developing capacity in ex situ conservation for threatened bryophytes
(Lead supervisor: Dr Jennifer Rowntree, University of Plymouth)
Georgie Freer-Carmichael (2023-2026)
Assessment of the co-benefits of Natural Flood Management (NFM) interventions
(Lead supervisor: Dr Paul Lunt, University of Plymouth)
Placeholder for incoming student
MSc students
Jamie Huntriss (2022-2023) – Belowground carbon stocks in contrasting wet woodland systems
Caitlin Richards (2022-2023) – CO2 exchange in a wet woodland in South Devon, UK
Robert Jones (2022-2023) – Peatland vegetation recovery post-wildfire using open-source remote sensing
Eleanor Wiltshire (2022-2023) – Impact of beaver on wetland greenhouse gas emissions
Undergraduate students
Emma Pitchfork (2022-2023) – Morphological traits in sphagnum species growing in contrasting wetland ecosystems
Leah Donnelly (2022-2023) – Soil organic carbon characteristics in a wet woodland ecosystem
Marija Nore (2022-2023) – Bioindicators of temperate rainforest across Dartmoor, UK: a study on lichen populations
Completed students
Meg Schmidt MSc (2019-2021) (University of Waterloo) – Impacts of seismic line restoration on CO2 and CH4 fluxes and vegetation biomass
Rosie Oliver (2021-2022) – Soil P indices in the Somerset Levels and Moors: a technical evaluation of their value in predicting environmental pollution risk
Wetland Resilience Research Group 