A. Curriculum Vitae

April 20, 2011

A. Curriculum vitae

Maurizio Mencuccini

Date of birth: 09/01/1963, married, two children. Nationality: Italian.

0131 650 5432; ;

Website: http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/abs/research/forestsci/homepage.htm

date of completion: 20/04/2011

A. CURRICULUM VITAE

1. Maurizio Mencuccini

2. College; Science and Engineering

3. School: School of GeoSciences.

4. Date of first appointment in the University of Edinburgh: March 1st, 1997.

5. Date(s) of promotion in the University of Edinburgh

· Lecturer (University of Edinburgh, UK, 1997 – 2002)

· Senior Lecturer (University of Edinburgh, UK, 2002 – 2006)

· Reader in Forest Science (University of Edinburgh, UK, 2006 – 2011)

· Professor in Forest Science (University of Edinburgh, UK, 2011)

6. University education

· B.Sc. in Forest Sciences (first class, University of Florence, 1984 – 1988).

7. Degrees awarded (give university, class of degree and dates)

· Ph.D. in Forest Ecology (University of Florence, 1992 – 1995).

8. Career since graduation, including any significant periods of leave

· Research Associate (Institute of Forest Ecology, University of Florence, 1989 – 1990)

· Research Associate (Forest Research Institute, Arezzo, Italy, 1991 – 1992)

· Postdoctoral Research Associate (Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, 1995 – 1997)

· Visiting Research Fellow (Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, 1998-99)

· Visiting Research Professor, Universitat Autonoma Barcelona (Spain) (Dec 2008-Sept 2009)

· Distinguished Visiting Scientist, CSIRO, Hobart (Tasmania) (Jul-Aug 2011)

9. Major research interests My major contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge have taken place in the general areas of forest ecosystem ecology and the impacts of climate change on forests. I have strived to position myself at the frontier of the research in biological sciences that sits at the interface of global change research. In general, my scientific interests have been to pursue the understanding of how plants, especially trees, have evolved, function and interact with the abiotic and the biotic environment. In particular, I am deeply interested in how climate change is affecting the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. My major contributions to current debates in tree and ecosystem ecology have occurred in the following areas.

· Adaptation and ecological plasticity of the water transport system of trees. Trees in the Mediterranean suffer from a range of abiotic and biotic stresses, many of which interact with summer drought. Many climate predictions for the 21st century predict increased temperatures and increased evaporation from the land surface. In turn, this is likely to cause a significant increase in summer drought stress, particularly in natural vegetation. I have worked since my PhD on these issues, focussing on a model tree species, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Thanks in part to our work, Scots pine has become the de facto model tree species for studies of acclimation to tree hydraulics in the field. Because of the genetic advancements made on this species, the frontier of joining molecular and physiological work to predict the response of trees to changing drought intensity and frequency in the field is getting closer. Scots pine is retreating its southern boundary in Southern Europe, due to increased temperatures and drought, with episodes of mass mortality reported across all Mediterranean countries. I am at the forefront of this research in Europe, with regard to the understanding of the physiological determinants of drought-induced mortality of trees in the wild.

· The carbon cycle of forest ecosystems (gross primary productivity, autotrophic respiration, soil carbon stocks and carbon fluxes; effects of natural disturbances; the impacts of forest management). It is now widely recognised that accounting only for the carbon sequestration of actively growing young stands does not provide the full picture of forest carbon sequestration at the landscape scale. Although most forests are sequestering carbon, areas of disturbance (harvesting, fires, insect attacks, etc) re-emit large fractions of the sequestered carbon, effectively resetting the system balance to zero. We were the first group in Europe to show that forest harvesting results in substantial emission losses by forests. Together with our Italian collaborators we were the first consortium to show that, accounting for the disturbance caused by forest management is essential to understand the impact of environmental changes on the forest carbon balance. In a highly cited paper in Nature, we showed that the long-term average of forest net carbon sequestration (which accounts for the occasional disturbances occurring every several decades) does not relate to mean site temperature or to mean site rainfall, despite the fact that the two component processes, stand productivity and ecosystem respiration, are strongly dependent on temperature. Their similar sensitivity cancels out the effect and makes the forest carbon balance largely temperature-independent. Subsequent to this work, I have continued my interest in this theme and considered the impact of other management practices on the forest C cycle. Thanks to continued NERC support, we imposed a large scale (40 ha) experimental thinning of Griffin forest and, for the first time, monitored the long-term consequences of this treatment on the forest carbon balance. This work is directly policy-relevant and contributes to the LULUCF sector of IPCC, by allowing understanding how to separate the impact of forest management from the indirect anthropogenic effects due to atmospheric CO2 fertilisation, nitrogen deposition and ozone damage. As a result of this work, I have been involved in the expert group which has helped to draft the UK soil carbon code, i.e., the national standard for voluntary forestry and woodland carbon sequestration projects. I am also part of the steering committee which oversees the work of the UK LULUCF activities in developing and improving the reporting protocols.

· Prevention of forest degradation and forest restoration in Tropical regions (especially Africa). The forestry sector of tropical regions is responsible for around 20% of global CO2 emissions. I have led and motivated long-term research efforts in Eastern Africa for the past ten years, aimed at identifying the causes of forest degradation and determining the best pathways for restoration. This has led to the first REDD project for mangroves in Africa, recently launched at our field site.

· The physiological ecology of trees (carbon, water and nutrient relationships; impacts of insect defoliators). I was among the first three groups to pursue the research of the causes of forest growth decline during stand ageing (together with groups in Oregon and Colorado) and, with my PhD work, I was the first to show that Scots pine trees at Thetford forest do become hydraulically limited as they growth, i.e., I was the first to show experimentally that tall trees become increasingly water stressed because of their stature. Increased height increases the hydraulic resistance to lifting and transporting water to the top of their canopies and therefore causes photosynthetic limitations. This theme has significant implications for forest management because the age at which growth begins to decline also determines the financial returns from forest investments and therefore the age of felling of trees.

10. Principal research grants

1) Grants awarded (Sole= Sole applicant; PI = Principal investigator; Co-I = Co-Investogator)

i. current

Awarding body

Ref. No.

Brief Title of Research

Total £ awarded

£ awarded directly to me

Role

Dates

NERC

/ NE/I011749/1 / Perilous life at the xeric edge: drought-induced tree mortality in the Mediterranean / 498,305 /

498,305

2011-2015

NERC

/ NE/G00725X/1 / Impacts of nitrogen deposition on the forest carbon cycle: from ecosystem manipulations to national scale predictions /

868,756

815,000

2009-2014

NERC

/ ESPA Programme NE/I003401/1 / Swahili Seas. A REDD proposal for poverty alleviation and the prevention of Kenyan mangrove degradation /

254,236

/ 4,435 /

Co-I

2010-2012

NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory

/ - / The role of nitrogen deposition in driving carbon uptake by forest ecosystems /

30,600

Sole

2011-2012

Royal Society/ Brit Academy

/ NF082365 / The role of nitrogen deposition in driving carbon uptake by forest ecosystems /

90,000

Sole

2009-2011

Aviva plc

/ - / Mangrove forests: Potential carbon sinks for mitigating climate change at
Gazi Bay, Kenya /

150,000

Co-I

2008-2011

Scottish Forestry Trust / Forestry Commission

/ - /

Developing the silviculture of continuous cover forestry: Using the experience and data collected from the Glentress Trial Area – PhD studentship

33,413

2008-2011

Forestry Commission

/ - /

The Biology of Heartwood Formation and its Influence on Conifer Timber Quality – PhD studentship

36,000

2007-2011

Spanish Ministry of Education and culture

/ CSD2008-00040
(MEC) / Spanish woodlands and global change: threats and opportunities (MONTES Consortium)
/ 3,448,276 / - /

Co-I

2008-2013

Spanish Ministry of Education and culture

/ CGL2010-16373 (MEC) / DRIM: Understanding the mechanism of DRought-Induced Mortality in trees / 107,440 / - /

Co-I

2010-2012

ii. pending

BBSRC /

Quantifying the impact of aphids on cereal production in drier climates

Requested: 514,220 (FEC)

Co-I

Submitted recently

NERC /

Plant productivity controls on decomposition in forest soils

Requested: 480,220 (FEC)

Co-I

Submitted recently

NERC /

Terrestrial Multi Spectral Canopy LiDAR (MSCL) remote sensing of forests for improved quantification of structure and physiology

Requested: 527,710 (FEC

Co-I

Submitted recently

iii. expired

NERC ESPA Programme
/ CAMARV: Capacity Building for Mangrove Assessment, Restoration and Valuation in East Africa /

84,400

Co-I

2009-2010

Spanish Ministry of Education and culture

Ecological plasticity of Scots pine and possible changes in its distribution as a consequence of global change

/ 102,746 /

Co-I

2007-2010

NERC

/ The mangrove carbon cycle- influence of below-ground processes and managed cutting /

40,530

Co-I

2009-2010

European Science Foundation

Tracing the contribution of nitrogen deposition on carbon allocation in a forest: a triple isotope approach

5,600

Sole

2009

Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture

/ The xylem as a complex network for plant water transport
/

32,836

Co-I

2008-2009

NERC

/ Arctic Biosphere Atmosphere Coupling at Multiple Scales (ABACUS Consortium) /

500,000

Co-I

2006-2009

Forestry Commission

/ Physiological ecology of understorey trees in alternative management systems /

60,000

2005-2008

Leverhulme Trust

Recovery of ecosystem functions and coastal protection by replanted mangroves

63,726

Co-I

2004-2007

NERC

The influence of forest management on C sequestration, water balance and trace gas exchange

288,000

Co-I

2002-2007

Forestry Commission

The Stability of continuous cover forestry

45,000

2004-2007

NERC

Endogenous regulation of age-related changes in forest net primary productivity

222,000

Sole

2002-2005

EC FP V

Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems and increasing drought: vulnerability assessment

147,000

Sole

2002-2005

Royal Society

Scots pine water balance under different environmental conditions across Europe

1,280

Sole

Sept 2004

ESF

/ Methods for the detection of changes in soil carbon stocks under climate change (workshop) /

16,600

Mar-Oct 2003

EC FP V

Age-related dynamics of Carbon exchange in European forests

186,000

2000-2003

NERC

Age-related changes in the processes underlying net ecosystem exchanges in coniferous forests

36,000

Sole

1999-2001

NERC

The impact of drought on water and carbon dioxide fluxes from a Brazilian rain forest

207,000

Co-I

1998-2001

Scottish Forestry Trust

The role of winter desiccation and frost in determining stem form in silver birch provenances

30,000

Sole

1999-2002

NERC

Variability in vulnerability to cavitation and whole-plant hydraulic conductance in trees of different age

20,000

Sole

1997-1998

11. RAE status: statement of whether included in the last RAE and any related comments

I was included in the last two RAE. In the RAE 2009, GeoSciences as a whole were rated 5.

12. Research supervision experience, including the number of research students supervised (current and total and whether as principal or second supervisor) and of completed theses over the past five years or so

Research students (Primary supervisor)

Current:

Student / Year / Degree / Funding Body / Title
Hamish McIntosh / 3 / PhD / Forestry Commission/ Scottish Forestry Trust /

Developing the Silviculture of Continuous Cover Forestry: using the experience and data collected from the Glentress Trial Area

Toshie Mizunuma / 3 / PhD / Self-funding / Use of digital colour cameras to detect forest phenological processes
Andrew Leslie / 2 / PhD part-time / University of Cumbria /

Eucalyptus for short rotation forestry in the UK

Rachel Cohen / 2 / PhD / NERC / Regional assessment of mangrove degradation and mangrove carbon stocks in East Africa
Jack Lonsdale / 1 / PhD / NERC/ Forestry Commission / Prediction of carbon sequestration by UK forests: reduction of uncertainty by a model-data fusion approach
Richard Nair / 1 / PhD / NERC / Interactions between atmospheric nitrogen deposition and forest carbon cycle
Melusi Rampart / Begins Sept 2011 / PhD / Botswanan University Funding / The role of fire in the carbon cycle of pine forests

Completed:

Student / Year / Degree / Funding Body / Title
Kate Beauchamp / 2011 / Ph.D. / Forestry Commission / The biology of sapwood/heartwood transition in tree wood
Sophie Bertin / 2009 / Ph.D. / Torrance Bequest/Forestry Commission / Physiological ecology of understorey trees and the influence of shading on needle aphid herbivory.
Francesco Minunno / 2009 / M.Res. / Italian Foundation Body / Prediction of carbon sequestration and tree growth of Sitka spruce in Scotland
Witness Mojeremane / 2009 / Ph.D. / Botswana College of Agriculture / Identification and evaluation of soil changes occurring as a result of plantation forest establishment and silvicultural transformation in the UK
Evangelia Korakaki / 2008 / Ph.D. / Greek Foundation Body / Xylem and phloem water relations of Scots pine and poplar trees in relation to tree size
Axel Wellpott / 2008 / Ph.D. / Forestry Commission / Wind loading and mechanical stability of Sitka spruce trees in uneven-aged forests
Georgios Xenakis / 2007 / Ph.D. / Greek Foundation Body / Modelling the influence of GIS-derived environmental factors to site index prediction
Chris Russell / 2007 / MSc. by research / Ameri-Corps studentship / Trace gas fluxes in restored mangrove forests in Gazi Bay (Kenya)
Colin Edwards / 2006 / MSc. by research / Forestry Commission / Physical and biological constraints to the natural expansion of native pinewoods in Scotland
Hazandy Hamid / 2006 / Ph.D. / Malaysian Government / Age-related declines in morphological and physiological parameters of ash and sycamore trees.
Argyro Zerva / 2004 / Ph.D. / Greek Foundation Body / Effects of afforestation and forest management on soil carbon dynamics and trace gas emissions in a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) forest.
Dimitris Zianis / 2003 / Ph.D. / Greek Foundation Body / The size-biomass allometry of forest trees: a global meta-analysis, novel methods for estimating forest biomass and a case study of Fagus moesiaca Cz.
Sara Strati / 2002 / M.Phil. / Scottish Forestry Trust / The effects of winter frost on xylem embolism and the consequences for growth and phenology across provenances of silver birch in Scotland

Visiting Research students (registered elsewhere but working with me part of the time)