Nurturing Vibrant and Low Carbon Communities

Occuring on Tuesday 8 November 11.00am - 12.00pm

About

Professor Robin Matthews, Nurturing Vibrant and Low Carbon Communities Theme Leader at The James Hutton Institute will deliver this seminar about his research.

Robin has a background in plant science, and for over 35 years has been involved in modelling biological systems, ranging from the gene level to the global level. He has had a long experience in crop modelling, particularly of tropical crops, having developed models of Eucalyptus, cassava, and tea production, and has modelled the impact of climate change on rice production systems in Asia. Subsequently, he extended this work to soil processes, which has included work on methane emissions from rice agriculture, carbon sequestration under biomass plantations in the UK, the sustainability of carbon and nitrogen in cropping systems in Nepal, and symbiotic nitrogen fixation while a Visiting Professor at Kyoto University in Japan in 2003.

Robin currently acts as Leader of the Nurturing Vibrant and Low Carbon Communities Research Theme at The James Hutton Institute and is responsible for coordinating climate change activities across the Institute. He is also coordinator of the work package on net greenhouse gas emissions from Scottish soils and vegetation (WP3.1) funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) and is a member of the Scottish Government Agriculture and Climate Change Stakeholder Group (ACCSG). He is also a member of the Global Steering Group of the CGIAR's ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins.

Robin's overall research interests are in the processes of change and adaptation in coupled socio-ecological systems in response to external drivers, and in using complex adaptive systems ideas and integrated modelling approaches, including agent-based models, to understand these processes. He is particularly interested in exploring these ideas in relation to mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and to the provision of ecosystem services. He currently coordinates the EU-FP7 REDD-ALERT project on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), a collaboration of 12 partners in Europe, Indonesia, Cameroon, Peru and Vietnam.

Organisation

The James Hutton Institute

Venue

The James Hutton Institute

Address

The James Hutton Institute Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA

For More Info

This seminar will take place at The James Hutton Institute Aberdeen and will be broadcast live to Dundee.