Professor Carly Stevens

Professor in Plant Ecology and Soil Biogeochemistry

Research Overview

Carly is a plant ecologist and soil biogeochemist with an interest in how global change is impacting on our environment. In particular she is interested in how atmospheric nitrogen deposition is impacting on ecosystems and how they function and in limestone pavements.

Published research

Carly’s work includes over 160 peer reviewed journal papers (see link above), including a paper on how atmospheric nitrogen deposition is reducing plant species richness in the UK which was published in Science in 2004 and has been cited more than 1000 times. Since then she has published several other papers in high impact journals such as Science and Nature.

Carly’s research touches on a number of aspects of global change and conservation management with a focus on how ecosystems are impacted.

Carly has received funding for her research from a range of organisations including:

  • Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC),
  • Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
  • Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
  • Leverhulme Trust

Current research

Carly is academic director of the Waitrose Collaborative training partnership. Carly’s current research projects include:

  • NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship on conserving limestone pavements
  • Nutrient Network and DRAGnet
  • Soil health and restoration in a Circular Economy for Mineral-based Construction Materials

Roles

Carly is currently:

  • associate editor for the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology
  • a review panel member for NERC
  • Trustee for the Ecological Continuity Trust
  • A member of the university promotions committee
  • University representative on the Morecambe Bay Local Nature Partnership

Teaching

Carly’s teaching includes:

  • Leading a field based Masters course on vegetation survey as part of the Master’s level programme
  • Ecology Field Skills course for second year undergraduate students
  • Contributions to undergraduate modules

Determining nitrogen removal by coppicing
01/10/2024 → 31/03/2025
Research

Farming and sustainability in Ireland and Northern Ireland
01/05/2024 → 30/04/2025
Research

Building Partnerships to Conserve Limestone Pavements
01/01/2024 → 31/12/2026
Research

Air Pollution Recovery Indicators (APRI)- Development of a Butterfly/Moth Indicator
01/10/2023 → 31/03/2024
Research

Mitigating impacts of nitrogen deposition on grassland and heathland
25/09/2023 → 24/06/2024
Research

Hanson in the Community Monetary Donation
01/07/2023 → 30/09/2025
Research

Mapping Soils in Montserrat
21/12/2022 → 24/03/2023
Research

Mitigating impacts of N deposition from roads - initial stages
01/11/2022 → 31/03/2023
Research

Nitrogen deposition from roads: Mitigating and offsetting impacts on sites of conservation importance
01/03/2022 → 30/04/2022
Research

Assessing spatiotemporal relationships between atmospheric nitrogen pollution (and other factors) and invertebrate (especially butterfly)
01/10/2021 → 30/09/2023
Research

Travel Grant - Limestone pavements
01/04/2021 → 31/07/2021
Research

Science Hunters: Strategic Collaboration with Lancaster University
01/08/2020 → 31/07/2023
Research

COVID-19: Delivering Remote Outreach to Schools
15/06/2020 → 31/03/2021
Research

Investing in the future of science - assessing engagement with school-age children
01/11/2019 → 31/03/2020
Research

Revealing Long-Term Change in Vegetation Landscapes: The English Lake District and Beyond
01/11/2019 → 30/09/2022
Research

Can we reduce the use of single use plastics in food production?
01/10/2019 → 30/09/2023
Research

Elsevier Community Grant
01/09/2019 → 31/12/2019
Research

Nitrogen Futures
22/08/2019 → 14/05/2020
Research

The Minecraft Periodic Table of Elements
10/06/2019 → 31/07/2020
Research

N8: Mapping the expansion of soft rush (Juncus effusus) in grasslands
07/02/2019 → 31/10/2019
Research

Science Hunters
01/02/2019 → 30/06/2019
Research

The language of nitrogen: Why is understanding of the environmental challenges caused by nitrogen from agriculture so low?
01/02/2019 → 31/08/2019
Research

Waitrose CTP (BBSRC) : Helena Ripley
01/10/2018 → 30/09/2022
Research

Resistance by adaptation: Does evolution stabilise plant community structure and function under climate change?
10/09/2018 → 30/05/2022
Research

Waitrose Agronomy Group CTP (Waitrose) A100574 Funding
01/11/2017 → 30/09/2023
Research

Presentation of the Survey Project Results
17/09/2012 → 30/09/2012
Research

Ecological Continuity Trust: Establishing a Consortium Application
05/09/2012 → 31/12/2013
Research

The need for long-term experiments to support nature recovery
Invited talk

Volcanos and Montserrat
Invited talk

Waitrose Science Day 2024
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Montserrat: fragile life on a volcanic island
Invited talk

Waitrose CTP Science Month 2022
Other

Invited presentation
Invited talk

Natural England (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Romanian National Research Council (External organisation)
Membership of committee

NERC (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Jennifer Firn
Hosting an academic visitor

Invited presentation
Invited talk

Functional Ecology (Journal)
Editorial activity

Invited presenation
Invited talk

Invited presenation
Invited talk

Mahmoud Alharbi

Mahmoud Alharbi

PhD student

  • Innovation for a better environment
  • Limestone Pavements Partnership
  • Soil Plant and Land Systems
  • Sustainable Catchments
  • Understanding a changing planet