Andrew Hill

Research project

The relationships between historical woodland management and woodland biodiversity in Britain

Supervisors: Prof. Jonathan Finch (Archaeology) and Prof. Chris Thomas (Biology)

Funding: Leverhulme Trust, via the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity 

My research investigates how past woodland management influenced woodland biodiversity in Britain. By utilising archaeological and historical data, this study characterises former woodland management practices, reconstructs the ecological habitats they entail, and models the impacts of these managed landscapes on conservation priority species. I perform my analyses in a multi-period framework, comparing between the Late Mesolithic, the transition from the long eighteenth century into greater industrialisation, and the present. Consequently, my research aims to understand more about how woodlands were managed in pre-agricultural and pre-industrial Britain, how those habitats differ from those which persist today, and therefore to what extent past woodlands and their management supported species that are threatened today.

Profile

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.