Dr Elizabeth S. Jeffers
Dr Elizabeth S. Jeffers
How does climate change affect plant chemistry? And what are the cascading effects on nutrient cycling and ecological communities? These are the key questions that guide my current research. To answer them, I employ a range of palaeoecological, dendroecological and neo-ecological methods to measure changes in plant growth and chemical composition over time at seasonal to millennial time scales. These long-term records fill a major observational gap in ecosystem ecology. I then apply statistical modelling techniques to these time series to uncover new insights into the causes and consequences of ecosystem dynamics.
I lecture on biogeochemical cycling and co-lead the Technologies in Ecological Monitoring course in the Biology degree programme. I am also the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in Zoology. I am an Official Fellow in Environmental Change at Reuben College, Oxford.
I am a member of the editorial boards for Ecology Letters and the Journal of Ecology.
Selected Publications
Anna Lee Jones, Adam Ormondroyd, Felicity Hayes, Elizabeth S. Jeffers, Reflections of stress: Ozone damage in broadleaf saplings can be identified from hyperspectral leaf reflectance, Environmental Pollution 360 (2024) 124642 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124642.
Martin, A.C., M. Macias-Fauria, M.B. Bonsall, B. Forbes, P. Zetterberg & E.S. Jeffers (early view) Common mechanisms explain nitrogen-dependent growth of Arctic shrubs over three decades despite heterogeneous trends and declines in soil nitrogen availability. New Phytologist.
Whitehead, P.G., G. Bussi, J.M.R. Hughes, A.T. Castro-Castellon, M.D. Norling, E.S. Jeffers, C.P.N. Rampley, D.S. Read & A.A. Horton (2021) Modelling Microplastics in the River Thames: Sources, Sinks and Policy Implications. Water. 13(6): p. 861.
Bonsall, M.B., C. A. Froyd & E.S. Jeffers (2020) Resilience of long-term plant-nutrient dynamics. Biology Letters 16(1): 20190441.
