Marie Arnaud, PhD student at the School of Geography and 2017 SPRING competition winner, has developed EnRoot minirhizotron, an inexpensive, easy to build and partially 3D printable minirhizotron that offer a non-destructive alternative to quantify fine root production of mangroves which is considered amongst the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world. Marie believes that a major…
According to Dr Alice Owen, “When planning major infrastructure projects in the UK, there is often an assertion that the difficulty of such projects is a modern phenomenon. We grumble that great plans have to deal with many, often conflicting, constraints and considerations and it was all so much easier in the great era of…
water@leeds recently held a successful Confluence 2018 last 27th September at the Edward Boyle meeting room. Addressing the event, water@leeds Directors Professor Joe Holden and Professor Martin Tillotson presented the achievements of the group and highlighted the four main missions of water@leeds. This was then followed by an introduction from the new Associate Directors (Dr…
water@leeds members Dr. Julie Peacock and Dr. Karen Bacon recently published an article in PeerJ showing how the trees of stately homes such as the Harewood House could provide value in terms of carbon storage, runoff prevention, and pollution removal along with additional benefits to biodiversity and human health. According to the authors, previous research has shown the economic…
As part of the Usumacinta Roc Project, Dr. Julia Martin-Ortega and colleagues from ECOSUR and Scotland Rural College tested an innovative participatory research method. Using Theatre Forum, they presented some of the results of the project, which focus on understanding the risks that using an ecosystem services framing of environmental problems might bring in terms…
A projected consequence of climate change is the increase of farmland and crop production in 1200 areas that will expand northward to eventually cover an average of three-quarters of the boreal regions by 2099. These well-known agricultural lands include large sections of Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia and the United States. This was from a study led by…
Plastic microfibres which includes synthetic fabrics in our clothing and textiles has been found polluting our rivers. This was based on a study made by Dr Paul Kay on 28 river samples from six different field sites in Northern England. Dr Kay added, “These tiny plastic fragments and flakes may prove to be one of…
Led by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), the Collaborative Partnership on Forests’ Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative undertook a comprehensive scientific assessment of the state of knowledge on the forest-water relationship. The panel’s report was formally launched last 10th July at the UN Headquarters in New York. Dr Julia Martin-Ortega, Associate…
The Intergrating Hydro-Climate Science into Policy Decisions for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure and Livelihoods in East Africa project (HyCRISTAL) is working both to improve climate change predictions for East Africa and to use that information to inform long-term decision-making in the region.
The blog by Professor Martin Tillotson (Civil Engineering) describes the research areas covered by water@leeds and the importance it places on providing expert support to business. To read the full article go to: http://www.ncub.co.uk/blog/developing-solutions-to-improve-the-world-s-water-problems
