Tilly Edwards

While studying for my BA in Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford, I chose electives covering conservation biology, ecology and plant sciences. My dissertation looked at the anthropogenic impact on coral reef health, by measuring the changes in benthic and fish communities at decreasing levels of human impact. After graduating, I worked in medical communications for three and a half years, developing materials to educate patients and doctors on novel and existing treatments, and to summarise and publish new data. 

Although learning a lot, I always knew that I wanted to use the skills I had gained, during university and my time working in industry, to make a positive contribution to research into a sustainable future, which led me to begin research at Bangor University.

Email: [email protected]

Supervisors: Dr Karina Marsden, Dr Tim Peters, Dr Sabine Reinsch (UK CEH) and Professor Andy Smith 

Cryptogamic covers, including lichens, liverworts and mosses, have an epic presence in Atlantic woodlands. However, we lack understanding of their diversity, community structure, and ecosystem roles in temperate rainforests. With mosses making up 25% of understory plant biomass, they will likely have a large part to play in the exchange of gases between the air and organic matter. My PhD will investigate how the productivity of cryptogamic covers and their role as sources and sinks of greenhouse gases will be impacted by our changing climate. The anthropogenic pressures I will focus on will be global warming, changing precipitation levels and air pollution, specifically N deposition from agricultural practices. I will establish whether we need to alter greenhouse gas budgets as climate change progresses