Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford

• +44 (0)1865 285183
• john.boardman@eci.ox.ac.uk

• Cross-Cutting Theme

John Boardman is a geomorphologist educated at the Universities of Keele (BA and DSc) and London (BSc, PhD, PGCE). John retired from ECI in September 2008 and from his positions as Deputy Director of the ECI, Director of the MSc in Environmental Change and Management. He is now an Emeritus Fellow at the ECI, Research Fellow at Green-Templeton College, Oxford and at the Department of Geography, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He is a Fellow of the RGS and the BSG.

He has published over 160 papers mainly on land degradation and has edited several books: Soils and Quaternary Landscape Evolution (Wiley 1985), Periglacial Processes and Landforms in Britain and Ireland (CUP 1987), Soil Erosion on Agricultural Land (Wiley 1990), Past and Present Soil Erosion (Oxbow, 1992), Modelling Soil Erosion by Water (Springer 1998), Soil Erosion in Europe (Wiley 2006) and Southern African Landscapes and Environmental Change (Routledge, 2018). He has an H index of 24 (WoS) and 31 (Scopus).

John was Chairman of the EU-funded COST Action 623 'Soil Erosion and Global Change' (1998-2003) with 21 participating countries and Chaired a Working Group in COST 634 'On and Off-Site Impacts of Runoff and Erosion'. He is UK representative on the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Transdisciplinary Proposal Standing Assessment Board and on the Earth System Science and Environmental Management committee.

John continues to work on soil erosion in southern England and on land degradation in South Africa.

John continues to work on soil erosion in southern England and also on land degradation in South Africa. John has begun a new project in Autumn 2013 on the history and impact of rainfed wheat farming in the Sneeuberg, South Africa.

As former Director of the MSc in Environmental Change and Management, John continues to teach on the course and to lead field trips. He has recently acted as External Examiner on MSc degrees at the Universities of Exeter and Edinburgh. John is also supervising a PhD student on Sediment Pressures and Mitigation options for the River Rother at the University of Northampton.

2022

• Boardman, J. (2022) Footpath erosion. Geography Review, 36(1): 2-5.
• Boardman, J. (2022) Footpath erosion: assessment, extent and impacts with especial reference to the United Kingdom. Geography, 107(2): 60-69.
• Boardman, J. (2022) Sunken lanes in southern England: a review. Proceedings of the Geologists Association.
• Favis-Mortlock, D., Boardman, J., Foster, I.D.L. and Shepheard, M. (2022) Comparison of observed and DEM-driven field-to-river routing of flow from eroding fields in an arable lowland catchment. Catena, 208. 105737.
• Foster, I.D.L., Boardman, J., Evans, J., Copeland-Phillips, R., Vader, A.J., Collins, A. and Manning, C. (2022) Anthropogenic sediment traps and network dislocation in a lowland UK river. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 47(1): 143-158.

2021

• Boardman, J. (2021) Geomorphology in the northern Lake District, UK: some possibilities for field work and data analysis. Field Studies.
• Boardman, J. (2021) How much is soil erosion costing us? Geography, 106(1): 32-38.
• Boardman, J. and Foster, I.D.L. (2021) Runoff and sediment storage: the effectiveness of mitigation measures against soil erosion and freshwater pollution. Land Degradation and Development, 32(7): 2453-2455.
• Boardman, J., Poesen, J., Evans, M. (2021) Slopes: soil erosion. In, Burt, T.P., Goudie, A.S. and Viles, H.A. (eds.) History of the Study of Landforms or the Development of Geomorphology. Volume 5: Geomorphology in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century. Geological Society, London, Memoires, 58.
• Evans, R. and Boardman, J. (2021) Response to 'National-scale geodata describe widespread accelerated soil erosion' Benaud et al. (2020) Geoderma 271, 114378. Geoderma, 402. 115180.
• Zglobicki, W., Poesen, J., De Geeter, S., Boardman, J., Gawrysiak, L., Golosov, V., Ionita, I., Niacsu, L., Rodzik, J., Stankoviansky, M. and Stolz, C. (2021) Sunken lanes - development and functions in landscapes. Earth-Science Reviews, 221. 103757.

2020

• Boardman, J. (2020) A 38-year record of muddy flooding at Breaky Bottom: learning from a detailed case study. Catena, 189. 104493.
• Boardman, J. (2020) Soil: Erosion Assessment. In, Wang, Y. (ed.) Landscape and Land Capacity, 2nd Ed. CRS Press, Boca Raton, USA. pp. 211-226. ISBN: 9781138334083.
• Boardman, J. and Evans, R. (2020) The measurement, estimation and monitoring of soil erosion by runoff at the field scale: challenge and possibilities with particular reference to Britain. Progress in Physical Geography, 44(1): 31-49.
• Boardman, J., Burt, T.P. and Foster, I.D.L. (2020) Monitoring soil erosion on agricultural land: results and implications for the Rother valley, West Sussex, UK. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.

2019

• Boardman, J. (2019) Challenges for the control of erosion and muddy flooding in England - with particular reference to the Rother Valley, West Sussex. Symposium on Soil Erosion: Connecting Science, Policy and Practice, Leuven, 5-6 December 2019.
• Boardman, J. (2019) Managing soil erosion risk: some thoughts from the UK and Europe. Evenlode data integration conference, Shipton-Under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, 11 December 2019.
• Boardman, J. and Evans, R. (2019) The measurement, estimation and monitoring of soil erosion by runoff at the field scale: challenges and possibilities with particular reference to Britain. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, 44(1): 31-49.
• Boardman, J., Vandele, K., Evans, R. and Foster, I.D.L. (2019) Off-site impacts of soil erosion and runoff: why connectivity is more important than erosion rates. Soil Use and Management, 35(2): 245-256.
• Foster, I.D.L., Biddulph, M., Boardman, J., Copeland-Phillips, R., Evans, J., Pulley, S.J., Zhang, Y. and Collins, A.L. (2019) A palaeoenvironmental study of particle size‐specific connectivity - new insights and implications from the West Sussex Rother Catchment, United Kingdom. River Research and Applications.
• Mullan, D., Matthews, T., Vandaele, K., Barr, I.D., Swindles, G.T., Meneely, J., Boardman, J. and Murphy, C. (2019) Climate impacts on soil erosion and muddy flooding at 1.5 versus 2°C warming. Land Degradation and Development, 30(1): 94-108.

2018

• Boardman, J. (2018) The Challenge of Soil Erosion: Where Do We Now Stand? International Journal of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, 15(1): 1-3.
• Favis-Mortlock, D., Boardman, J., Foster, I., Greenwood, P. (2018) ‘Local gradient’ and between-site variability of erosion rate on badlands in the Karoo, South Africa. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44(3): 871-883.
• Foster, I.D.L. and Boardman, J. (2018) Monitoring and assessing land degradation: new approaches. In, Holmes, P.J. and Boardman, J. (eds.) Southern African Landscapes and Environmental Change. Routledge, London and New York. pp. 249-274.
• Holmes, P.J. and Boardman, J. (2018) Introduction. In, Holmes, P. J., and Boardman, J. (eds.) Southern African Landscapes and Environmental Change. Routledge, London and New York.
• Holmes, P.J. and Boardman, J. (2018) Southern African Landscapes and Environmental Change. Routledge, United Kingdom. pp. 308. ISBN: 9781138688957.
• Holmes, P.J., and Boardman, J. (2018) Conclusion. In, Holmes, P.J., and Boardman, J. (eds.) Southern African Landscapes and Environmental Change. .

2017

• Boardman, J. (2017) What are sunken lanes? National Trust
• Boardman, J., Bateman, S. and Seymour, S. (2017) Understanding the influence of farmer motivations on changes to soil erosion risk on sites of former serious erosion in the South Downs National Park, UK. Land Use Policy, 60: 298-312.
• Boardman, J., Davis-Mortlock, D. and Foster, I. (2017) The connectivity of erosion: how runoff and sediment travels from field to river – the case of the Rother valley, West Sussex. British Society for Geomorphology Annual Conference, Hull, 4-6 September, 2017.
• Boardman, J., Foster, I.D.L., Rowntree, K.M., Favis-Mortlock, D.T., Mol, L., Suich, H. and Gaynor, D. (2017) Long-term studies of land degradation in the Sneeuberg uplands, eastern Karoo, South Africa: A synthesis. Geomorphology, 285: 106-120.
• Evans, J., Boardman, J., Foster, I.D.L. and Copeland-Phillips, R. (2017) The impact of on-line dis-continuity on fluvial sediment dynamics and valley long profile adjustment. British Society for Geomorphology Annual Meeting, Hull, 4-6 September 2017.
• Evans, J.L., Foster, I., Boardman, J. and Holmes, N. (2017) SMART – Sediment Mitigation Actions for the River Rother, UK. Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, 375: 35-39.
• Evans, R., Collins, A.L., Zhang, Y., Foster, I.D.L., Boardman, J., Sint, H., Lee, M.R.F. and Griffith, B.A. (2017) A comparison of conventional and ¹³⁷Cs-based estimates of soil erosion rates on arable and grassland across lowland England and Wales. Earth-Science Reviews, 173: 49-64.
• Foster, I.D.L., Boardman, J., Collins, A.L., Copeland-Phillips, R., Kuhn, N.J., Mighall, T.M., Pulley, S. and Rowntree, K.M. (2017) The potential for gamma-emitting radionuclides to contribute to an understanding of erosion processes in South Africa. Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, 375: 29-34.
• Robins, L., Burt, T.P., Bracken, L.J., Boardman, J. and Thompson, D.B.A. (2017) Making water policy work in the United Kingdom: A case study of practical approaches to strengthening complex, multi-tiered systems of water governance. Environmental Science and Policy, 71: 41-55.
• Suich, H. and Boardman, J. (2017) Wheat growing and changing farming systems in south african dryland margins: the case of the sneeuberg, south africa. Land Degradation and Development, 28(1): 57-64.

2016

• Boardman, J. (2016) Sediments in landscape systems: stores, landforms and impacts. Geography Review, 30(2): 30.
• Boardman, J. (2016) The value of Google Earth™ for erosion mapping. Catena, 143: 123-127.
• Boardman, J. and Evans, R. (2016) The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe. Panagos P. et al., 2015 Environmental Science and Policy 54, 438–447—A response. Environmental Science and Policy, 58: 11-15.
• Boardman, J. and Favis-Mortlock, D. (2016) The use of erosion pins in geomorphology. Chapter 3 in, Cook, S.J., Clarke, L.E. and Nield, J.M. (eds.) Geomorphological Techniques. British Society for Geomorphology, London, UK.
• Boardman, J. and Vandaele, K. (2016) Effect of the spatial organisation of land use on muddy flooding from cultivated catchments and recommendations for the adoption of control measures. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(3): 336-343.
• Burt, T., Boardman, J., Foster, I. and Howden, N. (2016) More rain, less soil: long-term changes in rainfall intensity with climate change. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(4): 563-566.
• Evans, R. and Boardman, J. (2016) A reply to panagos et al., 2016 (Environmental science and policy 59 (2016) 53–57. Environmental Science and Policy, 60: 63-68.
• Krena, J., Greenwood, P., Kuhn, B., Heckrath, G., Foster, I., Boardman, J., Measows, M. and Kuhn, N. (2016) Soil organic carbon erosion and its subsequent fate in the Karoo rangeland. EGU General Assembly 2016, held 17-22 April, 2016 in Vienna Austria.
• Mullan, D., Vandaele, K., Boardman, J., Meneely, J. and Crossley, L.H. (2016) Modelling the effectiveness of grass buffer strips in managing muddy floods under a changing climate. Geomorphology, 270: 102-120.
• Sterk, G., Boardman, J. and Verdoodt, A. (2016) Desertification: History, Causes and Options for Its Control. Land Degradation and Develpment, 27(8): 1783-1787.

2015

• Boardman, J. (2015) Extreme rainfall and its impact on cultivated landscapes with particular reference to Britain. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 40(15): 2121-2130.
• Boardman, J., Favis-mortlock, D. and Foster, I. (2015) A 13-year record of erosion on badland sites in the Karoo, South Africa. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 40(14): 1964-1981.

2014

• Boardman, J. (2014) Rapid and selective clast weathering on an alluvial fan, eastern Karoo, South Africa. Catena, 126: 37-42.
• Nikolaus, K., Greenwood, P., Kuhn, B., Boardman, J., Foster, I. and Meadows, M. (2014) The Great Karoo region of South Africa: A carbon source or sink? EGU General Assembly 2014, held 27 April - 2 May, 2014 in Vienna, Austria.

2013

• Boardman, J. (2013) How old are the gullies (dongas) of the Sneeuberg uplands, Eastern Karoo, South Africa? Catena, 113: 79-85.
• Boardman, J. (2013) Soil Erosion Assessment. In, Dictionary of Natural Resources. Taylor and Francis, New York.
• Boardman, J. (2013) Soil erosion in Britain: updating the record. Agriculture, 3: 418-442.
• Boardman, J. (2013) The hydrological role of 'sunken lanes' with respect to sediment mobilization and delivery to watercourses with particular reference to West Sussex, southern England. Journal Soils and Sediments, 13(9): 1635-1644.
• Boardman, J. and Favis-Mortlock, D.T. (2013) The significance of drilling date and crop cover with reference to soil erosion by water, with implications for mitigating erosion on agricultural land in South East England. Soil Use and Management, 30(1): 40-47.

2012

• Boardman, J. (2012) Soil Erosion and Farming: assessing and managing the risk. Geography Review, 26(2): 36-40.
• Boardman, J., Hoffman, M.T., Holmes, P.J. and Wiggs, G.F.S. (2012) Soil erosion and land degradation. Chapter 11 in, Holmes, P. and Meadows, M. (eds.) Southern African Geomorphology: Recent Trends and New Directions. African Sun Media. pp. 307-328. ISBN: 978-1-920382-02-5.
• Foster, I.D.L., Rowntree, K.M., Boardman, J. and Mighall, T.M. (2012) Changing sediment yield and sediment dynamics in the Karoo uplands, South Africa; post-European impacts. Land Degradation and Development, 23: 508-522.
• Mighall, T.M., Foster, I.D.L., Rowntree, K.M. and Boardman, J. (2012) Reconstructing recent land degradation in the semi-arid Karoo of South Africa: a palaeoecological study at Compassberg, Eastern Cape. Land Degradation and Development, 23: 523-533.

2011

• Boardman, J. (2011) Erosion Assessment. In, Richardson, K. and Steffen, W. and Liverman, D. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Soil Science. Taylor & Francis Online. pp. 565-567. ISBN: 0849338301.
• Boardman, J. and Foster, I.D.L. (2011) The potential significance of the breaching of small farm dams in the Sneeuberg region, South Africa. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 11(8): 1456-1465.

2010

• Boardman, J. (2010) A short history of muddy floods. Land Degradation and Development, 21(4): 303-309.
• Boardman, J. and Vandaele, K. (2010) Soil erosion, muddy floods and the need for institutional memory. Area, 42(4): 502-513.
• Boardman, J., Foster, I., Rowntree, K., Mighall, T. and Gates, J. (2010) Environmental stress and landscape recovery in a semi-arid area, the Karoo, South Africa. Scottish Geographical Journal, 126(2): 64-75.
• Everard, O., Heitz, C., Liegeois, M., Boardman, J., Vandaele, K., Auzet, A-V. and van Wesemael, B. (2010) A comparison of management approaches to mitigate muddy floods in central Belgium, northern France and southern England. Land Degradation and Development, 21(4): 322-335.
• Evrard, O., Heitz, C., Liegeois, M., Boardman, J., Vandaele, K., Auzet, A.V. and van Wesemael, B. (2010) A comparison of management approaches to control muddy floods in central Belgium, northern France and southern England. Land Degradation & Development, 21(4): 322-335.
• Faulkner, H., Boardman, J. and Ruiz, J-L. (2010) A simple validated GIS expert system to map relative soil vulnerability and patterns of erosion during the muddy floods of 2000-2001 on the South Downs, Sussex, UK. Land Degradation and Development, 21(4): 310-321.
• Goudie, A.S. and Boardman, J. (2010) Soil erosion. Chapter 14 in, Alcántara-Ayala, I. and Goudie, A.S. (eds.) Geomorphological Hazards and Disaster Prevention. Cambridge University Press. 177 pp. ISBN: 9780521769259.

2009

• Boardman, J., Foster, I.D.L., Rowntree, K., Mighall, T. and Parsons, A.J. (2009) Small farm dams: a ticking time bomb? Water Wheel, 8(4): 30-35.
• Boardman, J., Shepheard, M.L., Walker, E. and Foster, I.D.L. (2009) Soil erosion and risk-assessment for on- and off-farm impacts: a test case using the Midhurst area, West Sussex, UK. Journal of Environmental Management, 90(8): 2578-2588.
• Keay-Bright, J. and Boardman, J. (2009) Evidence from field based studies of rates of soil erosion on degraded land in the central Karoo, South Africa. Geomorphology, 103(3): 455-465.

2008

• Boardman, J. (2008) Soils and sustainability: the future of the South Downs. In, Fish. R., Seymour, S., Watkins, C. and Steven, M. (eds.) Sustainable Farmland Management: Transdisciplinary Approaches. CAB International. pp. 49-57. ISBN: 9781845933517.
• Boardman, J. and Foster, I. (2008) Badland and gully erosion in the Karoo, South Africa. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 63(4): 121-125.
• Boardman, J. and Foster, I. (2008) Badland gully erosion in the Karoo, South Africa. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 63(4).
• Foster, I.D.L., Boardman, J. and Gates, J.B. (2008) Reconstructing historical sediment yields from the infilling of farm reservoirs, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Sediment Dynamics in Changing Environments, 325: 440-447.
• Rowntree, K., Foster, I., Mighall, T., Dupreez, L. and Boardman, J. (2008) Post-European settlement impacts on erosion and land degradation: a case study using farm reservoir sedimentation in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Press International Commission on Continental Erosion/International Association of Hydrological Sciences (ICCE/IAHS) Symposium ‘Sediment Dynamics in Changing Environments’, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1-5 December 2008. ISBN: 9781901502848.

2007

• Boardman, J. (2007) Soil erosion: the challenge of assessing variation through space and time. In, Goudie, A.S. and Kalvoda, J. (eds.) Soil erosion: the challenge of assessing variation through space and time. Nakladatelsti P3K, Prague. pp. 205-220. ISBN: 978-80-903584-6-1.
• Foster, I.D.L., Boardman, J. and Keay-Bright, J. (2007) Sediment tracing and environmental history for two small catchments, Karoo uplands, South Africa. Geomorphology, 90(1-2): 126-143.
• Keay-Bright, J. and Boardman, J. (2007) The influence of land management on soil erosion in the Sneeuberg mountains, central Karoo, South Africa. Land Degradation and Development, 18(4): 423-439.

2006

• Boardman, J. (2006) Soil erosion science: reflections on the limitations of current approaches. Catena, 68(2-3): 73-86.
• Boardman, J. and Poesen, J. (2006) Soil erosion across Europe : major processes, causes and consequences. In, Burley, J. and Evans, J. and Youngquist, JA (eds.) Soil Erosion in Europe. Wiley Online Library. pp. 479-488.
• Helming, K., Rubio, J.L. and Boardman, J. (2006) Soil erosion across Europe: Research approaches and perspectives. Catena, 68(2): 71-72.
• Keay-Bright, J. and Boardman, J. (2006) Changes in the distribution of degraded land over time in the central Karoo, South Africa. Catena, 67(1): 1-14.

2005

• Foster, I.D.L., Boardman, J., Keay-Bright, J. and Meadows, M.E. (2005) Land degradation and sediment dynamics in the South African Karoo. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication, 292: 207-213.

2003

• Boardman, J. (2003) Applying for UK masters courses. The Students Companion to Geography,: 345-347.
• Boardman, J., Evans, R. and Ford, J. (2003) Muddy floods on the South Downs, southern England: problem and responses. Environmental Science & Policy, 6(1): 69-83.
• Boardman, J., Parsons, A.J., Holl, , R., Holmes, P.J. and Washington, R. (2003) Development of badlands and gullies in the Sneeuberg, Great Karoo, South Africa. Catena, 50(2-4): 165-184.
• Boardman, J., Poesen, J. and Evans, R. (2003) Socio-economic factors in soil erosion and conservation. Environmental Science & Policy, 6(1): 1-6.

2002

• Boardman, J. (2002) The need for soil conservation in Britain--revisited. Area, 34(4): 419-427.
• Boardman, J. (2002) Thornsgill and Mosedale; Helvellyn; Throstle Shaw; Sandbeds Fan; Grasmoor; Skiddaw. In, Huddart, D. and Glasser, N.F. and Innes, J. (eds.) Quaternary of Northern England. Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
• Lascelles, B., Favis-Mortlock, D., Parsons, T. and Boardman, J. (2002) Automated Digital Photogrammetry: A Valuable Tool for Small-scale Geomorphological Research for the Non-photogrammetrist? Transactions in GIS, 6(1): 5-15.

2001

• Favis-Mortlock, D.T., Boardman, J. and MacMillan, V.J. (2001) The limits of erosion modeling: why we should proceed with care. In, Harmon, R.S. and Doe, W.W. (eds.) Landscape erosion and evolution modeling. Springer. pp. 477-516. ISBN: 9780306467189.
• Wild, C., Wells, C., Anderson, D., Boardman, J. and Parker, A. (2001) Evidence for medieval clearance in the Seathwaite Valley, Cumbria. TRANSACTIONS-CUMBERLand WESTMORLAND ANTIQUARIAN AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 1: 53-68.

2000

• Favis-Mortlock, D.T., Boardman, J., Parsons, A.J. and Lascelles, B. (2000) Emergence and erosion: a model for rill initiation and development. Hydrological processes, 14(11-12): 2173-2205.