Garrod Seminar, Archaeology - Dr Matthew Adeleye

Understanding long-term spatio-temporal ecological changes in degraded peatlands to inform restoration

Multi-proxy palaeoecological evidence and ethnography can be combined to develop robust long-term ecological baselines for wetland management and conservation. In this presentation, I explore how this approach can inform rewetting and restoration efforts in the Fens, one of the largest peatland areas in the UK and home to some of its rarest wildlife. The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Northamptonshire (WT-BCN) are currently restoring the Great Fen by creating new wetland habitats that support biodiversity. Working in collaboration with the WT-BCN, I aim to understand spatio-temporal changes and the influence of human activity in the development of this historic wetland. Furthermore, through a major new project called ‘Integrating past and present ecologies, and traditional knowledge for effective biodiversity management into the future (IPPET)’, it is hoped to make such approaches scalable and globally relevant.

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This talk is part of the Department of Archaeology - Garrod seminar series series.