Rebekka Artz
+44 (0)344 928 5428
The James Hutton Institute
Craigiebuckler
Aberdeen AB15 8QH
Scotland UK
Biography
My specific interests relate to the ecology and ecosystem functions of microbiota in peatland ecosystems. My research has widened its scope to include peatland restoration as well as studying the effects of climate change and increased nitrogen deposition on carbon cycling in peatlands and other organic soils, such as upland heathlands. You can read a case study of my work on peatland restoration here.
I am investigating the effects that methods of advanced peatland restoration will have on soil fungal community, vegetation structure, site rewetting and carbon dynamics. This research will also investigate whether these methods are effective in areas that experience significantly lower rainfall. This will broaden our understanding about the resilience of peatlands and the effect that drought/restoration management can have on this ecosystem’s capacity for carbon sequestration. This ongoing work leads from existing research on the well characterized peatlands of the RSPB-owned Forsinard Flows.
Documents
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A Summary of Peatlands Research 2011-16
A summary of research outputs supported or facilitated by the Environmental Change Programme of the Scottish Government’s Portfolio of Strategic Research 2011-2016
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WISE Peatland Choices A decision support tool for peatland restoration in Scotland
An important considera on, given the high targets for emissions reduction and habitat restoration, is to consider where peatland conservation on and restoration on may be most desirable. To aid this process, a decision support tool has been developed that summarises all of the information on that is available at the national scale on peatland locations and various condition indicators.
