Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
ECI is advancing our scientific understanding of ecosystems and their role in the Earth's system. Researchers are examining how ecosystems function and respond to contemporary environmental change, including climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and exploring the social, cultural and political impact of such interactions. Using this knowledge we can advise how best to manage and respond to the changes and help towards a sustainable future for our planet's biological heritage.
RESEARCH GROUPS
Ecosystems Lab
The Ecosystem Lab seeks to understand what makes contemporary ecosystems; and how they may be affected by direct human pressures and global atmospheric change. Led by Yadvinder Malhi.
Projects +Ecosystems Governance Group
The Ecosystems Governance Group seeks to strengthen our understanding of how state and non-state institutions and actors shape decisions about the conservation and use of natural resources around the world. Led by Constance McDermott
Projects +Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Climate Adaptation
The Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Climate Adaptation research group is at the forefront of mapping, assessing and valuing the effects of environmental change on species, ecosystems and the services they provide. Led by Pam Berry.
Projects +Ecosystem news
- 11/05/21 11 May 2021 - read more + Biodiversity and art: Artist-in-residence Loveday Pride working with the Land use and governance team As part of the ABC Network science-artist collaboration, Loveday Pride has joined forces with the Land use governance team. Loveday is a Fine Art student at the Ruskin School in Oxford, and while she is primarily a painter, her work embraces many media. Her main muse is The Pug, whose round body and squidgy face takes on multitudinous forms, from fairy tale peas to Rococo icons.
- 17/03/21 17 March 2021 - read more + Finding inspiration in your back garden - and from the past Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystems Science, authors a new blog explaining how he found solace and refuge in local nature over this year of pandemic and lockdown. Read in full on the University's Science Blog.
- 01/02/21 1 February 2021 - read more + Getting the message right on nature-based solutions to climate change Nature-based solutions can play a key role in helping to tackle the climate and nature crises, while delivering other benefits for people, according to a new paper today from the Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) at the University of Oxford - but it is vital to get the message right about how to deliver successful NbS and avoid potential pitfalls.
- 31/12/20 22 January 2021 - read more + Why projects to adapt to climate change backfire Many internationally-funded projects aimed at combating the impacts of climate change can make things worse - by reinforcing, redistributing or creating new sources of vulnerability in developing countries, according to a review led by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and the University of Oxford. Dr Lisa Schipper, Environmental Social Scientist at the ECI, is one of the lead authors of the review.
Research outputs
Do animal extinctions make the planet less fertile?
Dr Chris Doughty explains his research and how important nutrients are recycled by large megafauna.
- Jun 2015
Megafauna and Ecosystem Function: from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene
Professor Yadvinder Malhi introduces our recent conference which examines the role that large animals (megafauna) play in ecosystem function in the context of past, present and future ecosystems.
- March 2014
Latest publications
- Gueiros, C., Jodoin, S. and McDermott, C.L. (2023) Jurisdictional approaches to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Brazil: Why do states adopt jurisdictional policies? Land Use Policy, 127. 106582.
