University of Nottingham Malaysia
Faculty of Science
     
  
 

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Stephanie Evers

Honorary Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences

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Teaching Summary

I am the Course Director for BSc. Environmental Sciences.

Please contact me if you have any queries regarding this degree programme

Module Convener:

  • L1 Ecology of Natural and Managed Ecosystem
  • L2 Environmental Science Field Course ( Tioman Island,)
  • L2 Professional Skills for Bioscientists

I also teach in a range of other modules in UG and PG in the areas of tropical ecology, sustainable development, statistics, research skills and hydrogeochemistry

Research Summary

My research focus is Aquatic Ecology with a research focus on the inter-relationships between carbon flux, biogeochemistry and ecological community assemblage structure of aquatic and wetland… read more

Current Research

My research focus is Aquatic Ecology with a research focus on the inter-relationships between carbon flux, biogeochemistry and ecological community assemblage structure of aquatic and wetland ecosystems, particularly tropical peatswamp forests. I am currently focusing on the impacts of alteration of tropical peat swamp forest with agricultural conversion.

In 2011, I co-founded TROCARI (Tropical Catchment Research Initiative; www.trocari.com), a four-member research consortium of universities and NGO's in Malaysia. TROCARI's research focuses on tropical peatland ecology and biogeochemistry, but is also strongly multidisciplinary and also has many projects related to socioeconomics, policies and stakeholder engagement initiatives. I am especially interested in the rapid conversion of tropical peatlands into agriculture (especially oil palm plantations).

Tropical lowland peat swamp forests (PSFs) are unique ecosystems. In their natural state they are permanently waterlogged anaerobic, highly acidic (pH2.9-4) and flood up to 50 cm or more during the wet season, inhibiting heterotrophic and root respiration and also organic matter decomposition. Consequently, plant material only partially decomposes; resulting in a net accumulation of organic matter compared to the suppressed rate of decomposition. The peat forms over millennia to form domes up to 20 m deep.

Southeast Asia contains an estimated 56% of all tropical peatlands. Further, Southeast Asian peatlands are also some of the deepest, averaging 5.5-7m deep and can be up to 28,000 years old, storing an estimated 69Gt of carbon. Unfortunately, expanding agricultural conversion has led to drainage, loss of hydrological function, deforestation, increased soil respiration and fire resulting in daily emissions from Indonesia during this years 'haze' events being comparable to emissions from the entire daily US economy. In addition due to increases in soil respiration, the peat forest conversion contributes an equivalent of 1.3% to 3.1% of current global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.

I currently have a group of PhD (5) and MPhil (2) students which benefit from those extensive cross-discipline and cross-university collaborations. The projects are quite varied, but most relate to carbon fluxes from peatlands and peat ecology.

Current research areas include:

  • The role of soil compression on peat soil microbial communities, GHG emissions and micropore morphology
  • Differing microbial communities in soils of peat agricultural systems
  • Spatial variation of GHG emissions during the peat swamp forest to oil palm plantation conversion process
  • Dissolved Organic Carbon concentrations within varying peat soil land uses
  • Mobility of heavy metals in blackwaters of peat catchments
  • Characterization of emissions from peat fires
  • Isotopic signatures of carbon emissions
  • Blackwater fish and algae as indicators of varying water quality in peatlands

Past Research

Before coming to Malaysia, I was a researcher on a major EU Life+ funded programme (CAISIE) leading a work programme examining the role of non-native invasive species in altering ecological and habitat dynamics in Irish inland canal and navigable waterways.

My PhD research at the University of Glasgow considering the role of light availability and forest felling on the allochthonous and autochthonous carbon ratios of in-stream biofilms in conifer plantations. I also considered ecological communities and how they varied in response to alteration of basal foodweb resources.

Faculty of Science

University of Nottingham Malaysia
Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia

telephone: +6 (03) 8924 8000
fax: +6 (03) 8924 8018

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