Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

All Outputs (28)

Assessing the Impact of Voluntary Certification Schemes on Future Sustainable Coffee Production (2024)
Journal Article
Jones, K., Njeru, E. M., Garnett, K., & Girkin, N. (2024). Assessing the Impact of Voluntary Certification Schemes on Future Sustainable Coffee Production. Sustainability, 16(13), Article 5669. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135669

Coffee production faces major sustainability issues and consumers increasingly look to choose certified coffee as awareness grows. While consumers’ understanding of sustainability issues is limited, independent voluntary certification schemes such as... Read More about Assessing the Impact of Voluntary Certification Schemes on Future Sustainable Coffee Production.

The three-peat challenge: business as usual, responsible agriculture, and conservation and restoration as management trajectories in global peatlands (2023)
Journal Article
Girkin, N. T., Burgess, P. J., Cole, L., Cooper, H. V., Honorio Coronado, E., Davidson, S. J., …Young, D. (2023). The three-peat challenge: business as usual, responsible agriculture, and conservation and restoration as management trajectories in global peatlands. Carbon Management, 14(1), Article 2275578. https://doi.org/10.1080/17583004.2023.2275578

Peatlands are a globally important carbon store, but peatland ecosystems from high latitudes to the tropics are highly degraded due to increasingly intensive anthropogenic activity, making them significant greenhouse gas (GHG) sources. Peatland resto... Read More about The three-peat challenge: business as usual, responsible agriculture, and conservation and restoration as management trajectories in global peatlands.

The contribution of natural burials to soil ecosystem services: Review and emergent research questions (2023)
Journal Article
Pawlett, M., Girkin, N. T., Deeks, L., Evans, D. L., Sakrabani, R., Masters, P., …Márquez-Grant, N. (2024). The contribution of natural burials to soil ecosystem services: Review and emergent research questions. Applied Soil Ecology, 194, Article 105200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2023.105200

The modern funeral industry faces many environmental risks and challenges, such as the use of sustainable materials for coffins, the release of potentially damaging materials and organisms to the soil and groundwater, and reduced space available for... Read More about The contribution of natural burials to soil ecosystem services: Review and emergent research questions.

Simulating carbon accumulation and loss in the central Congo peatlands (2023)
Journal Article
Young, D. M., Baird, A. J., Morris, P. J., Dargie, G. C., Mampouya Wenina, Y. E., Mbemba, M., …Lewis, S. L. (2023). Simulating carbon accumulation and loss in the central Congo peatlands. Global Change Biology, 29(23), 6812-6827. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16966

Peatlands of the central Congo Basin have accumulated carbon over millennia. They currently store some 29 billion tonnes of carbon in peat. However, our understanding of the controls on peat carbon accumulation and loss and the vulnerability of this... Read More about Simulating carbon accumulation and loss in the central Congo peatlands.

Opportunities for enhancing the climate resilience of coffee production through improved crop, soil and water management (2023)
Journal Article
Bracken, P., Burgess, P. J., & Girkin, N. T. (2023). Opportunities for enhancing the climate resilience of coffee production through improved crop, soil and water management. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 47(8), 1125-1157. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2023.2225438

Climate change is adversely affecting coffee production, impacting both yields and quality. Coffee production is dominated by the cultivation of Arabica and Robusta coffee, species that represent 99% of production, but both will be affected by climat... Read More about Opportunities for enhancing the climate resilience of coffee production through improved crop, soil and water management.

Towards net zero in agriculture: Future challenges and opportunities for arable, livestock and protected cropping systems in the UK (2023)
Journal Article
Sakrabani, R., Garnett, K., Knox, J. W., Rickson, J., Pawlett, M., Falagan, N., …W Simmons, R. (2023). Towards net zero in agriculture: Future challenges and opportunities for arable, livestock and protected cropping systems in the UK. Outlook On Agriculture, 52(2), 116-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/00307270231178889

The agricultural sector faces multiple challenges linked to increased climate uncertainty, causing severe shocks including increased frequency of extreme weather events, new pest and disease risks, soil degradation, and pre and postharvest food losse... Read More about Towards net zero in agriculture: Future challenges and opportunities for arable, livestock and protected cropping systems in the UK.

Tropical peatlands in the Anthropocene: The present and the future (2022)
Journal Article
Girkin, N. T., Cooper, H. V., Ledger, M. J., O’Reilly, P., Thornton, S. A., Åkesson, C. M., …Roucoux, K. H. (2022). Tropical peatlands in the Anthropocene: The present and the future. Anthropocene, 40, Article 100354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2022.100354

Tropical peatlands are a globally important carbon store. They host significant biodiversity and provide a range of other important ecosystem services, including food and medicines for local communities. Tropical peatlands are increasingly modified b... Read More about Tropical peatlands in the Anthropocene: The present and the future.

Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin. (2022)
Journal Article
Garcin, Y., Schefuß, E., Dargie, G. C., Hawthorne, D., Lawson, I. T., Sebag, D., …Lewis, S. L. (2022). Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin. Nature, 612, 277–282. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3

The forested swamps of the central Congo Basin store approximately 30 billion metric tonnes of carbon in peat . Little is known about the vulnerability of these carbon stocks. Here we investigate this vulnerability using peat cores from a large inter... Read More about Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin..

Mapping peat thickness and carbon stocks of the central Congo Basin using field data (2022)
Journal Article
Crezee, B., Dargie, G. C., Ewango, C. E. N., Mitchard, E. T. A., Emba B., O., Kanyama T., J., …Lewis, S. L. (2022). Mapping peat thickness and carbon stocks of the central Congo Basin using field data. Nature Geoscience, 15(8), 639-644. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00966-7

The world’s largest tropical peatland complex is found in the central Congo Basin. However, there is a lack of in situ measurements to understand the peatland’s distribution and the amount of carbon stored in it. So far, peat in this region has been... Read More about Mapping peat thickness and carbon stocks of the central Congo Basin using field data.

Immediate environmental impacts of transformation of an oil palm intercropping to a monocropping system in a tropical peatland (2022)
Journal Article
Dhandapani, S., Girkin, N. T., Evers, S., Ritz, K., & Sjögersten, S. (2022). Immediate environmental impacts of transformation of an oil palm intercropping to a monocropping system in a tropical peatland. Mires and Peat, 28, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.19189/MaP.2021.GDC.StA.2290

The expansion of oil palm plantations is one of the greatest threats to carbon-rich tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia. More than half of the oil palm plantations on tropical peatlands of Peninsular Malaysia are smallholder-based, which typically f... Read More about Immediate environmental impacts of transformation of an oil palm intercropping to a monocropping system in a tropical peatland.

Linking long-term soil phosphorus management to microbial communities involved in nitrogen reactions (2022)
Journal Article
O’Neill, R. M., Duff, A. M., Brennan, F. P., Gebremichael, A. W., Girkin, N. T., Lanigan, G. J., Krol, D. J., Wall, D. P., Renou-Wilson, F., Müller, C., Richards, K. G., & Deveautour, C. (2022). Linking long-term soil phosphorus management to microbial communities involved in nitrogen reactions. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 58(4), 389-402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-022-01627-y

The influence of soil phosphorous (P) content on the N-cycling communities and subsequent effects on N2O emissions remains unclear. Two laboratory incubation experiments were conducted on soils collected from a long-term (est. 1995) P-addition field... Read More about Linking long-term soil phosphorus management to microbial communities involved in nitrogen reactions.

Tropical peatlands in the anthropocene: Lessons from the past (2022)
Journal Article
Cole, L. E., Åkesson, C. M., Hapsari, K. A., Hawthorne, D., Roucoux, K. H., Girkin, N. T., Cooper, H. V., Ledger, M. J., O'Reilly, P., & Thornton, S. A. (2022). Tropical peatlands in the anthropocene: Lessons from the past. Anthropocene, 37, 100324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2022.100324

The status of tropical peatlands, one of Earth's most efficient natural carbon stores, is of increasing international concern as they experience rising threat from deforestation and drainage. Peatlands form over thousands of years, where waterlogged... Read More about Tropical peatlands in the anthropocene: Lessons from the past.

Identifying Sustainable Nitrogen Management Practices for Tea Plantations (2022)
Journal Article
Rebello, R., Burgess, P. J., & Girkin, N. T. (2022). Identifying Sustainable Nitrogen Management Practices for Tea Plantations. Nitrogen, 3(1), 43-57. https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen3010003

Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It is mostly grown in the tropics with a heavy dependence on mineral nitrogen (N) fertilisers to maintain high yields while minimising the areas under cultivation. However,... Read More about Identifying Sustainable Nitrogen Management Practices for Tea Plantations.

Spatial variability of surface peat properties and carbon emissions in a tropical peatland oil palm monoculture during a dry season (2021)
Journal Article
Dhandapani, S., Girkin, N. T., & Evers, S. (2022). Spatial variability of surface peat properties and carbon emissions in a tropical peatland oil palm monoculture during a dry season. Soil Use and Management, 38(1), 381-395. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12741

The expansion of oil palm monocultures into globally important Southeast Asian tropical peatlands has caused severe environmental damage. Despite much of the current focus of environmental impacts being directed at industrial scale plantations, over... Read More about Spatial variability of surface peat properties and carbon emissions in a tropical peatland oil palm monoculture during a dry season.

Long‐term zero‐tillage enhances the protection of soil carbon in tropical agriculture (2021)
Journal Article
Cooper, H. V., Sjögersten, S., Lark, R. M., Girkin, N. T., Vane, C. H., Calonego, J. C., …Mooney, S. J. (2021). Long‐term zero‐tillage enhances the protection of soil carbon in tropical agriculture. European Journal of Soil Science, 72(6), 2477-2492. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13111

Contrasting tillage strategies not only affect the stability and formation of soil aggregates but also modify the concentration and thermostability of soil organic matter associated with soil aggregates. Understanding the thermostability and carbon r... Read More about Long‐term zero‐tillage enhances the protection of soil carbon in tropical agriculture.

Expert assessment of future vulnerability of the global peatland carbon sink (2020)
Journal Article
Loisel, J., Gallego-Sala, A. V., Amesbury, M. J., Magnan, G., Anshari, G., Beilman, D. W., …Wu, J. (2020). Expert assessment of future vulnerability of the global peatland carbon sink. Nature Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00944-0

© 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. The carbon balance of peatlands is predicted to shift from a sink to a source this century. However, peatland ecosystems are still omitted from the main Earth system models th... Read More about Expert assessment of future vulnerability of the global peatland carbon sink.

Is Intercropping an Environmentally-Wise Alternative to Established Oil Palm Monoculture in Tropical Peatlands? (2020)
Journal Article
Dhandapani, S., Girkin, N. T., Evers, S., Ritz, K., & Sjögersten, S. (2020). Is Intercropping an Environmentally-Wise Alternative to Established Oil Palm Monoculture in Tropical Peatlands?. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3, Article 70. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00070

Tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia are important ecosystems that play a crucial role in global biogeochemical cycles, with a potential for strong climate feedback loops. The degradation of tropical peatlands due to the expansion of oil palm plantat... Read More about Is Intercropping an Environmentally-Wise Alternative to Established Oil Palm Monoculture in Tropical Peatlands?.

Peat Properties, Dominant Vegetation Type and Microbial Community Structure in a Tropical Peatland (2020)
Journal Article
Girkin, N. T., Lopes dos Santos, R. A., Vane, C. H., Ostle, N., Turner, B. L., & Sjögersten, S. (2020). Peat Properties, Dominant Vegetation Type and Microbial Community Structure in a Tropical Peatland. Wetlands, 40, 1367–1377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01287-4

Tropical peatlands are an important carbon store and source of greenhouse gases, but the microbial component, particularly community structure, remains poorly understood. While microbial communities vary between tropical peatland land uses, and with... Read More about Peat Properties, Dominant Vegetation Type and Microbial Community Structure in a Tropical Peatland.

Root oxygen mitigates methane fluxes in tropical peatlands (2020)
Journal Article
Girkin, N., Vane, C. H., Turner, B., Ostle, N., & Sjögersten, S. (2020). Root oxygen mitigates methane fluxes in tropical peatlands. Environmental Research Letters, 15(6), Article 064013. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8495

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Tropical peatlands are a globally important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Vegetation is critical in regulating fluxes, providing a conduit for emissions and regular carbon inputs. H... Read More about Root oxygen mitigates methane fluxes in tropical peatlands.