PhD topic title: The relationships between historical woodland management and woodland biodiversity in Britain
PhD supervisors: Professor Jon Finch and Professor Chris Thomas
Biography and research
I completed my BSc in Archaeology and MSc in Digital Archaeology at the University of York, where I developed my research interests in applying digital methods, particularly GIS and also statistics and 3D modelling, and multi-period landscape archaeological data to address contemporary conservation challenges. I also worked as a research assistant for the York Environmental Sustainability Institute and the Borthwick Institute for Archives. I have voluntary experience with organisations including the Archaeology Data Service, English Heritage and the Council for British Archaeology.
My research investigates how historical woodland management influenced woodland biodiversity in Britain. This study utilises archaeological and historical data to characterise historical woodland management practices, and models their ecological consequences. My focus is on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, during the long eighteenth century and into the period of greater industrialisation, when traditional management gave way to rural trends that, to varying extents, persist today. Consequently, my research aims to understand more about anthropogenic woodland environments that existed into the last few hundred years, which may be compared to modern environments, to which they may remain closely related, and the post-glacial woodlands of Britain.
Funder
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Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity
Contact us
Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity