Profile

I am a post doctoral research assistant in tropical carbon dynamics within the Ecosystem Dynamics group of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. For my undergraduate degree, I studied Environmental Biogeoscience at the University of Leeds and subsequently completed my PhD at the Open University in 2011.

I have a wide range of research interests within the broad area of ecosystem and environmental sciences. To date, most of my research has taken place in the tropics, including areas in South America, Africa and Asia. My PhD research focused on the tropical peatlands of Southeast Asia and the role that these peatlands have in the global carbon cycle. In particular, I investigated the impact that anthropogenic disturbances such as logging, drainage and fire events have on the export of fluvial organic carbon and consequently, the overall carbon balance of these tropical peatland ecosystems.

Current Project

I am currently implementing studies of carbon allocation and cycling at forest sites in West and Central Africa. This involves conducting and maintaining long-term studies of above- and belowground productivity, autotrophic respiration and microclimate at six sites in Ghana and Gabon, which will help to determine how Carbon Use Efficiency varies in contrasting tropical forests.

Overall, it is anticipated that at least 18 intensive research plots in Africa will be installed, to complement the ongoing 17 plots across Amazonia (RAINFOR research project). From a baseline of zero comprehensive carbon assessments in 2005, this total dataset will be a substantial data resource for the tropical forest ecology and global ecosystems science research communities. It will: (1) Provide baseline estimates of current forest carbon storage, and (2) Track ongoing changes in forest carbon cycling. These results will help develop the next generation of coupled atmosphere-biosphere models and guide international climate policy.

Publications

• Moore, S., Gauci, V., Evans, C. D. and Page, S. E., 2011. Fluvial organic carbon losses from a Bornean blackwater river. Biogeosciences 8:901-909, doi:10.5194/bg-8-901-2011.
• Moore, S., 2008. The role of Vitellaria Paradoxa in poverty reduction and food security in the Upper East region of Ghana. Earth and E-nvironment, 3:209-245.

In Review

• Moore, S., Gauci, V., Page, S.E., Evans, C.D., Garnett, M.H., Jones, T.G., Freeman, C. and Limin, S.H., 2011. Fluvial organic carbon fluxes reveal deep instability of deforested tropical peatlands. Nature.
• Pangala, S.R., Moore, S., Hornibrook, E.R.C. and Gauci, V. Trees are largest methane source in tropical wetlands. Nature Geoscience.

In preparation:

• Moore, S., Hoscilo, A., Page, S.E., Evans, C.D. and Gauci, V. Quantifying the export of fluvial organic carbon from the River Sebangau, following the 2009 peat swamp forest fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia. To be submitted to Global Change Biology.
• Moore, S., Gauci, V., Page, S.E., Hoscilo, A. and Evans, C.D. Fluvial carbon losses following the 2009 peat swamp forest fires in Kalimantan, Borneo. To be submitted to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Evans, C.D., Page, S.E., Jones, T., Moore, S., Gauci, V., Laiho, R., Hruska, J., Allott, T.E.H., Billett, M.F., Freeman, C. and Garnett, M.H., 2011. Contrasting susceptibility of tropical and temperate peats to carbon loss following drainage. To be submitted to Nature Geoscience.