Profile

Dr. Paula A. Harrison is a Senior Research Scientist and Project Manager within the Biodiversity Group of the Environmental Change Institute. She has a D.Phil. entitled Climate Change and Wheat Production: Spatial Modelling of Impacts in Europe (University of Oxford), a M.Sc. in Operational Research (University of Lancaster) and a B.Sc. in Geography and Statistics (University of Salford).

She has worked at the Environmental Change Institute since it was founded in 1991. Prior to this she was a member of the Atmospheric Impacts Research Group at the University of Birmingham. She has over 15 years experience of managing large multi-institutional projects at both the national and international level, including the EU projects EPOCH (1991-1992), CLAIRE (1993-1995) and CLIVARA (1996-1998). She was Coordinator of the EU Coordination Action project RUBICODE (Rationalising Biodiversity Conservation in Dynamic Ecosystems; 2006-2009) and is currently the Coordinator of the EU project CLIMSAVE (Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe; 2010-2013). She was an Expert Reviewer for various chapters of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report and has authored over 70 scientific papers, book chapters and contract reports.

Research Interests

Quantifying the contribution of different organisms, and the effects of various drivers of change, on the provision of ecosystem services. The development and application of impact models for managed and natural ecosystems, and the evaluation of spatialisation techniques for assessing the regional implications of climate change and possibilities for adaptation. Developing integrated assessment techniques that take account of interactions between different land use sectors. She is currently involved in the following research projects:

• Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe (CLIMSAVE; funded by the European Commission).
• Rationalising Biodiversity Conservation in Dynamic Ecosystems (RUBICODE; funded by the European Commission).
• Modelling natural resource responses to climate change (MONARCH3; funded by English Nature, Countryside Council for Wales; Environment Agency; Environment and Heritage Service (Northern Ireland); Duchas The Heritage Service (Republic of Ireland); National Trust; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; Scottish Natural Heritage; Scottish Executive; Woodland Trust; Forestry Commission; The Welsh Assembly and Defra).
• Development of a metamodel tool for regional integrated climate change management (RegIS2; funded by Defra);
• Assessing climate change effects on land use and ecosystems: from regional analysis to the European scale (ACCELERATES; funded by the European Commission);
• Biodiversity requires adaptations in northwest Europe under a changing climate (BRANCH; funded by the European Commission);

Recent Publications

• Anton, C., Young, J., Harrison, P.A., Musche, M., Bela, G., Feld, C.K., Harrington, R., Haslett, J.R., Pataki, G., Rounsevell, M.D.A., Skourtos, M., Sousa, J.P., Sykes, M.T., Tinch, R., Vandewalle, M., Watt, A. and Settele, J. (2010) Research needs for incorporating the ecosystem service approach into EU biodiversity conservation policy. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2979-2994.
• de Bello, F., Lavorel, S., Díaz, S., Harrington, R., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Bardgett, R.D., Berg, M.P., Cipriotti, P., Feld, C.K., Hering, D., Martins da Silva, P., Potts, S.G., Sandin, L., Sousa, J.P., Storkey, J., Wardle, D.A. and Harrison, P.A. (2010) Towards an assessment of multiple ecosystem processes and services via functional traits. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2873-2893.
• Harrington, R., Anton, C., Dawson, T.P., de Bello, F., Feld, C.K., Haslett, J.R., Kluvánkova-Oravská, T., Kontogianni, A., Lavorel, S., Luck, G.W., Rounsevell, M.D.A., Samways, M.J., Settele, J., Skourtos, M., Spangenberg, J.H., Vandewalle, M., Zobel, M. and Harrison, P.A. (2010) Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation: concepts and a glossary. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2773-2790.
• Harrison, P.A. (ed.) (2010) Special Issue: Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity Conservation. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10).
• Harrison, P.A. (2010) Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation: an introduction to the RUBICODE project. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2767-2772.
• Harrison, P.A., Vandewalle, M., Sykes, M.T., Berry, P.M., Bugter, R., de Bello, F., Feld, C.K., Grandin, U., Harrington, R., Haslett, J.R., Jongman, R.H.G., Luck, G.W., Martins da Silva, P., Moora, M., Settele, J., Sousa, J.P. and Zobel, M. (2010) Identifying and prioritising services in European terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2791-2821.
• Rounsevell, M.D.A., Dawson, T.P. and Harrison, P.A. (2010) A conceptual framework to assess the effects of environmental change on ecosystem services. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2823-2842.
• Skourtos, M., Kontogianni, A. and Harrison, P.A. (2010) Reviewing the dynamics of economic values and preferences for ecosystem goods and services. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2855-2872.
• Vandewalle, M., de Bello, F., Berg, M.P., Bolger, T., Dolédec, S., Dubs, F., Feld, C.K., Harrington, R., Harrison, P.A., Lavorel, S., Martins da Silva, P., Moretti, M., Niemelä, J., Santos, P., Sattler, T., Sousa, J.P, Sykes, M.T., Vanbergen, A.J., and Woodcock, B.A. (2010) Functional traits as indicators of biodiversity response to land use changes across ecosystems and organisms. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(10): 2921-2947.
• Audsley, E., Pearn, K., Harrison, P.A. and Berry, P.M. (2008) The impact of future socio-economic and climate changes on agricultural land use and the wider environment in East Anglia and North West England using a metamodel system. Climatic Change, 90(1-2): 57-88.
• Feld, C.K., Martins da Silva, P., Sousa, J.P., de Bello, F., Bugter, R., Grandin, U., Hering, D., Lavorel, S., Mountford, O., Pardo, I., Pärtel, M., Römbke, J., Sandin, L., Jones, K.B. and Harrison, P.A. (2009) Indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services: a synthesis across ecosystems and spatial scales. Oikos, 118(12): 1862-1871.
• Harrison, P.A., Berry, P.M., Henriques, C. and Holman, I.P. (2008) Impacts of socio-economic and climate change scenarios on wetlands: linking water resource and biodiversity meta-models. Climatic Change, 90(1-2): 113-139.
• Holman, I.P., Rounsevell, M.D.A., Cojacaru, G., Shackley, S., McLachlan, C., Audsley, E., Berry, P.M., Fontaine, C., Harrison, P.A., Henriques, C., Mokrech, M., Nicholls, R.J., Pearn, K., and Richards, J. (2008) The concepts and development of a participatory regional integrated assessment tool. Climatic Change, 90(1-2): 5-30.
• Luck, G.W., Harrington, R., Harrison, P.A., Kremen, C., Berry, P.M., Bugter, R., Dawson, T.P., de Bello, F., Dia, S., Feld, C.K., Haslett, J.R., Hering, D., Kontogianni, A., Lavorel, S., Rounsevell, M., Samways, M.J., Sandin, L., Settele, J., Sykes, M.T., Van de Hove, S., Vandewalle, M. and Zobel, M. (2009) Quantifying the contribution of organisms to the provision of ecosystem services. BioScience, 59(3): 223-235.
• Richards, J., Mokrech, M., Berry, P.M. and Nicholls, R. (2008) Regional assessment of climate change impacts on coastal and fluvial ecosystems and the scope for adaptation. Climatic Change, 90(1-2): 141-167.
• Berry, P.M., Rounsevell, M.D.A., Harrison, P.A. and Audsley, E. (2006) Assessing the vulnerability of agricultural land use and species to climate change and the role of policy in facilitating adaptation. Environmental Science and Policy, 9(2): 189-204.
• del Barrio, G., Harrison, P.A., Berry, P.M., Butt, N., Sanjuan, M., Pearson, R.G. and Dawson, T. (2006) Integrating multiple modelling approaches to predict the potential impacts of climate change on species' distributions in contrasting regions: comparison and implications for policy. Environmental Science and Policy, 9(2): 129-147.
• Harrison, P.A., Berry, P.M., Butt, N. and New, M. (2006) Modelling climate change impacts on species' distributions at the European scale: implications for conservation policy. Environmental Science and Policy, 9(2): 116-128.
• Rounsevell, M.D.A., Berry, P.M. and Harrison, P.A. (2006) Future environmental change impacts on rural land use and biodiversity: a synthesis of the ACCELERATES project. Environmental Science and Policy, 9(2): 93-100.
• Holman, I.P., Nicholls, R.J., Berry, P.M., Harrison, P.A., Audsley, E., Shackley, S. and Rounsevell, M.D.A. (2005) A regional, multi-sectoral and integrated assessment of the impacts of climate and socio-economic change in the UK. Part II. Results.. Climatic Change, 71(1-2): 9-41.
• Holman, I.P., Rounsevell, M.D.A., Shackley, S., Harrison, P.A., Nicholls, R.J., Berry, P.M. and Audsley, E. (2005) A regional, multi-sectoral and integrated assessment of the impacts of climate and socio-economic change in the UK. Part I. Methodology. Climatic Change, 71(1-2): 43-73.