Andreas is an ecologist with a particular focus on linking plant and soil carbon fluxes to climate change. He has special expertise in carbon stock & flux measurements and modelling of soil carbon dynamics and also in using stable isotopes for carbon tracer studies.

His major activity is field soil respiration measurements, understanding its component fluxes (i.e. mycorrhizal fungi), and improve modelling terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics, especially forests and peatlands (he developed the MILLENNIA peatland model).

Over the past 8 years his role within the CTCD/NCEO  has been to coordinate the ground based carbon flux measurements and to explore the potential of using earth observation (EO) data for improved understanding of terrestrial carbon dynamic. Within a Defra grant (CTE1121) his particular focus is on assessing management strategies of UK upland peatlands in relation to biodiversity, water quality and carbon dynamics (carbon dioxide and methane) and to further develop the MILLENNIA peat cohort model.

Career
Andreas is currently PI and leading a long-term Defra project (BD5104) on peatland management and ecosystem services in the UK.

Andreas joined SEI York in 2002 as a post doctoral researcher within the Centre for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics (CTCD). In 2008 he joined the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), a follow up of the CTCD and is now leading a Defra consortium on management strategies in UK upland peatland.

Andreas holds a PhD in Biology on carbon dynamics in the mycorrhizal symbioses from the University of York and works as a part time lecturer at the Centre for Life Long Learning at the University of York and is a frequent speaker at outreach events on the science of climate change.

Andreas gives regular lectures in the Environment Department on the linkages between the carbon cycle and climate change.

Teaching
a) Centre for Life Long Learning: Ecology and Systems' thinking as part of the accreddited course 'Urban Hotriculture'.
b) Environment Department: Global carbon dynamics - linking atmosphere, plant and soil as within Silvia Toet's climate change module.

Publications

• The 'Gas-Snake': Design and validation of a versatile membrane-based gas flux measurement system in a grassland soil respiration study (Journal article - 2012)

• Exploring the 'overflow tap' theory: Linking forest soil CO2 fluxes and individual mycorrhizosphere components to photosynthesis (Journal article - 2012)

• Partitioning of soil CO2 flux components in a temperate grassland ecosystem (Journal article - 2012)

• Biotic carbon feedbacks in a materially closed soil–vegetation–atmosphere system (Journal article - 2012)

• Fast assimilate turnover revealed by in situ 13CO2 pulse-labelling in Subarctic tundra (Journal article - 2012)

• Fertile forests produce biomass more efficiently (Journal article - 2012)

• Processes controlling DOC in pore water during simulated drought cycles in six different UK peats (Journal article - 2012)

• The impact of projected increases in urbanization on ecosystem services (Journal article - 2011)

• Applying the ecosystem service concept to air quality management in the UK: a case study for ammonia (Journal article - 2011)

• Turnover of recently assimilated carbon in arctic bryophytes (Journal article - 2011)

Complete list of publications »

Projects

• Triple Green II

  
  

• Impact of deforestation on climate change

  
  

• The Breathing Forest

  
  

• Carbon cycle science

  
  

• Centre for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics