Professor Sue Hartley
School of Biosciences
Vice-President for Research
- Profile
-
Career
- Vice-President for Research and Innovation, University of Sheffield (2022 – present)
- Vice-President for Research, University of Sheffield (2020 – 2022)
- University of York Research Champion for Environmental Sustainability and Resilience (2015-2019)
- Director of the York Environmental Sustainability Institute and Professor of Ecology (Band 3) Department of Biology
- University of York (2010-2019)
- Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex (2009-2010)
- Reader then Professor of Ecology, University of Sussex (2001-2010)
- Section Leader (Community Ecology) and Principle Scientific Officer Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory (1996-2000)
- Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Fellowship - Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Banchory Research Station (1993-1996)
- Post-Doctoral Research Fellow - Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Banchory (1990-1993)
- NERC Personal Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship - University of York (1987-1990)
- PhD University of York (1987)
- BA University of Oxford (1984)
- Research interests
-
I am interested in the chemical basis of the interactions between plants and other organisms, how these interactions are affected by environmental factors such as climate change, and how understanding these interactions can support more resilient and sustainable crop production.
My areas of expertise include: plant defences, particularly the role of silicon in crop resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses; plant-soil, plant-herbivore and multi-trophic interactions; the impacts of climate change on crops and their pests; sustainable pest management and food security; agri-environment policy.
- Publications
-
Journal articles
- Harvesting the sun twice: Energy, food and water benefits from agrivoltaics in East Africa. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 208, 115066-115066.
- Ideals and practicalities of policy co-design – Developing England’s post-Brexit Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. Land Use Policy, 147, 107343-107343.
- Plant Silicon Defences Suppress Herbivore Performance, but Mode of Feeding Is Key. Ecology Letters, 27(10).
- Agroecological consequences of silicon supplementation for a legume cultivation: Two-year-long field observations. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 365, 108893-108893.
- Straw digestibility in rice: Novel insights from pyrolysis GC-MS and biomass phenotyping. Biomass and Bioenergy, 182, 107099-107099.
- Enhanced weathering in the US Corn Belt delivers carbon removal with agronomic benefits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(9). View this article in WRRO
- Virus‐induced changes in root volatiles attract soil nematode vectors to infected plants. New Phytologist, 241(5), 2275-2286.
- Silicon and Epichloë‐endophyte defences in a model temperate grass diminish feeding efficiency and immunity of an insect folivore. Functional Ecology.
- Enhanced plant growth in the presence of earthworms correlates with changes in soil microbiota but not nutrient availability. Geoderma, 433, 116426-116426.
- Growth–defence trade-off in rice: fast-growing and acquisitive genotypes have lower expression of genes involved in immunity. Journal of Experimental Botany, 74(10), 3094-3103. View this article in WRRO
- Pathways of degradation in rangelands in Northern Tanzania show their loss of resistance, but potential for recovery. Scientific Reports, 13(1).
- Climatic drivers of silicon accumulation in a model grass operate in low- but not high-silicon soils. Plants, 12(5).
- Appraising the water‐energy‐food nexus from a sustainable development perspective: a maturing paradigm?. Earth's Future, 10(12).
- Why do plants silicify?. Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
- Nitrogen availability and plant–plant interactions drive leaf silicon concentration in wheat genotypes. Functional Ecology.
- Valuing beyond economics: A pluralistic evaluation framework for participatory policymaking. Ecological Economics, 196, 107420-107420.
- Uptake of silicon in barley under contrasting drought regimes. Plant and Soil. View this article in WRRO
- Benefits of silicon-enhanced root nodulation in a model legume are contingent upon rhizobial efficacy. Plant and Soil.
- Elevated atmospheric CO
2
changes defence allocation in wheat but herbivore resistance persists. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 289(1969).
- The ability of silicon fertilisation to alleviate salinity stress in rice is critically dependent on cultivar. Rice, 15(1). View this article in WRRO
- Silicon application and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria consisting of six pure Bacillus species alleviate salinity stress in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L). Scientia Horticulturae, 288, 110383-110383.
- Plant herbivore protection by arbuscular mycorrhizas: A role for fungal diversity?. New Phytol.
- Plant silicon application alters leaf alkaloid concentrations and impacts parasitoids more adversely than their aphid hosts.. Oecologia.
- The effect of silicon on osmotic and drought stress tolerance in wheat landraces. Plants, 10(4).
- Rapid silicon accumulation affects carbon-based plant defences and enhances plant resistance to a global insect pest .
- Reciprocal effects of silicon supply and endophytes on silicon accumulation and Epichloë colonization in grasses. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11.
- Silicon Defence in Plants: Does Herbivore Identity Matter?. Trends in Plant Science.
- High silicon concentrations in grasses are linked to environmental conditions and not associated with C4 photosynthesis.. Global Change Biology. View this article in WRRO
- Impact of osmotic stress on the growth and root architecture of introgression lines derived from a wild ancestor of rice and a modern cultivar. Plant-Environment Interactions, 1(2), 122-133.
- Is silicon a panacea for alleviating drought and salt stress in crops?. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11. View this article in WRRO
- Increased yield and CO
2
sequestration potential with the C
4
cereal
Sorghum bicolor
cultivated in basaltic rock dust‐amended agricultural soil. Global Change Biology, 26(6), 3658-3676. View this article in WRRO
- Physiological acclimation of a grass species occurs during sustained but not repeated drought events. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 171, 103954-103954.
- Elevated atmospheric CO
2
suppresses jasmonate and silicon‐based defences without affecting herbivores. Functional Ecology, 34(5), 993-1002.
- Civil disobedience movements such as School Strike for the Climate are raising public awareness of the climate change emergency. Global Change Biology, 26(3), 1042-1044.
- Microbes in
Helicoverpa armigera
oral secretions contribute to increased senescence around plant wounds. Ecological Entomology, 45(5), 1224-1229.
- Assessment of the growth in social groups for sustainable agriculture and land management. Global Sustainability, 3.
- Is it time to include legumes in plant silicon research?. Functional Ecology, 34(6), 1142-1157.
- Making Brexit work for the environment and livelihoods : delivering a stakeholder informed vision for agriculture and fisheries. People and Nature, 1(4), 442-456. View this article in WRRO
- “Insectageddon”: A call for more robust data and rigorous analyses. Global Change Biology, 25(6), 1891-1892.
- Simulated Herbivory: The Key to Disentangling Plant Defence Responses. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34(5), 447-458.
- Genotypic differences in shoot silicon concentration and the impact on grain arsenic concentration in rice. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 182(2), 265-276.
- Aphids can acquire the nitrogen delivered to plants by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Functional Ecology, 33(4), 576-586.
- Elevated carbon dioxide and warming impact silicon and phenolic-based defences differently in native and exotic grasses. Global Change Biology, 24(9), 3886-3896.
- Global assessment of agricultural system redesign for sustainable intensification. Nature Sustainability, 1(8), 441-446.
- Constant Isothiocyanate-Release Potentials across Biofumigant Seeding Rates. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 66(20), 5108-5116.
- Dryland management regimes alter forest habitats and understory arthropod communities. Annals of Applied Biology, 172(3), 282-294.
- Build two-way rapport for better policymaking. Nature, 556(7700), 174-174. View this article in WRRO
- Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Chemical Defence: Effects of Colonisation on Aboveground and Belowground Metabolomes. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 44(2), 198-208.
- Population‐level manipulations of field vole densities induce subsequent changes in plant quality but no impacts on vole demography. Ecology and Evolution, 8(16), 7752-7762.
- A plant-feeding nematode indirectly increases the fitness of an aphid. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8. View this article in WRRO
- Still armed after domestication? Impacts of domestication and agronomic selection on silicon defences in cereals. Functional Ecology, 31(11), 2108-2117. View this article in WRRO
- Silicon‐induced root nodulation and synthesis of essential amino acids in a legume is associated with higher herbivore abundance. Functional Ecology, 31(10), 1903-1909.
- Mapping regional risks from climate change for rainfed rice cultivation in India. Agricultural Systems, 156, 76-84.
- Impact of predicted precipitation scenarios on multitrophic interactions. Functional Ecology, 31(8), 1647-1658.
- Development of an efficient glucosinolate extraction method. Plant Methods, 13(1).
- Impacts of silicon-based grass defences across trophic levels under both current and future atmospheric CO
2
scenarios. Biology Letters, 13(3), 20160912-20160912.
- New frontiers in belowground ecology for plant protection from root-feeding insects. Applied Soil Ecology, 108, 96-107.
- The functional ecology of plant silicon: geoscience to genes. Functional Ecology, 30(8), 1270-1276.
- The ecology of herbivore‐induced silicon defences in grasses. Functional Ecology, 30(8), 1311-1322.
- An insect ecosystem engineer alleviates drought stress in plants without increasing plant susceptibility to an above‐ground herbivore. Functional Ecology, 30(6), 894-902.
- Roots under attack: contrasting plant responses to below- and aboveground insect herbivory. New Phytologist, 210(2), 413-418.
- Hedgerow rejuvenation management affects invertebrate communities through changes to habitat structure. Basic and Applied Ecology, 16(5), 443-451.
- Hemiparasitic plant impacts animal and plant communities across four trophic levels. Ecology, 96(9), 2408-2416.
- Round and round in cycles? Silicon‐based plant defences and vole population dynamics. Functional Ecology, 29(2), 151-153.
- Infection by a foliar endophyte elicits novel arabidopside-based plant defence reactions in its host,Cirsium arvense. New Phytologist, 205(2), 816-827.
- A Zoospore Inoculation Method with Phytophthora sojae to Assess the Prophylactic Role of Silicon on Soybean Cultivars. Plant Disease, 98(12), 1632-1638.
- The effect of multiple host species on a keystone parasitic plant and its aphid herbivores. Functional Ecology, 28(4), 829-836.
- Proteomic analysis of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) ovarian fluid.. PLoS One, 9(8), e104155.
- Climate change and trophic interactions in model temporary pond systems: the effects of high temperature on predation rate depend on prey size and density. Freshwater Biology, 58(12), 2481-2493.
- More than herbivory: levels of silica-based defences in grasses vary with plant species, genotype and location. Oikos, 122(1), 30-41.
- Rapid and accurate analyses of silicon and phosphorus in plants using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. New Phytologist, 195(3), 699-706.
- Raspberry viruses manipulate the behaviour of their insect vectors. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 144(1), 56-68.
- Oviposition and feeding behaviour by the vine weevil Otiorhynchus sulcatus on red raspberry: effects of cultivars and plant nutritional status. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 14(2), 157-163.
- Delayed induced silica defences in grasses and their potential for destabilising herbivore population dynamics. Oecologia, 170(2), 445-456.
- Investigating preference-performance relationships in aboveground-belowground life cycles: a laboratory and field study with the vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus). Bulletin of Entomological Research, 102(1), 63-70.
- Effects of cultivar and egg density on a colonizing vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) population and its impacts on red raspberry growth and yield. Crop Protection, 32, 76-82.
- Aboveground–belowground herbivore interactions: a meta-analysis. Ecology, 93(10), 2208-2215.
- Interactive effects of plant-available soil silicon and herbivory on competition between two grass species. Annals of Botany, 108(7), 1355-1363.
- Responses of insect herbivores to sharing a host plant with a hemiparasite: impacts on preference and performance differ with feeding guild. Ecological Entomology, 36(5), 596-604.
- Does mother know best? The preference-performance hypothesis and parent-offspring conflict in aboveground-belowground herbivore life cycles. Ecological Entomology, 36(2), 117-124.
- Plant-mediated effects of soil invertebrates and summer drought on above-ground multitrophic interactions. Journal of Ecology, 99(1), 57-65.
- Insect herbivore mortality is increased by competition with a hemiparasitic plant. Functional Ecology, 24(6), 1228-1233.
- Herbivory of tropical rain forest tree seedlings correlates with future mortality. Ecology, 91(4), 1092-1101.
- Both bottom-up and top-down processes contribute to plant diversity maintenance in an edaphically heterogeneous ecosystem. Journal of Ecology, 98(2), 498-508.
- Collembola respond to aphid herbivory but not to honeydew addition. Ecological Entomology, 34(5), 588-594.
- Physical defences wear you down: progressive and irreversible impacts of silica on insect herbivores. Journal of Animal Ecology, 78(1), 281-291.
- Impacts of Plant Symbiotic Fungi on Insect Herbivores: Mutualism in a Multitrophic Context. Annual Review of Entomology, 54(1), 323-342.
- Impacts of silica-based defences in grasses on the feeding preferences of sheep. Basic and Applied Ecology, 10(7), 622-630.
- The Influence of Soil Type on Rain Forest Insect Herbivore Communities. Biotropica, 40(6), 707-713.
- The relative importance of resources and natural enemies in determining herbivore abundance: thistles, tephritids and parasitoids. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77(5), 1063-1071.
- Are silica defences in grasses driving vole population cycles?. Biology Letters, 4(4), 419-422.
- Assessment of risk of insect-resistant transgenic crops to nontarget arthropods. Nature Biotechnology, 26(2), 203-208.
- Grasses bite back. Planet Earth(WINTER), 24-25.
- First EFSA experiences with monitoring plans. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 2(S1), 33-36.
- Herbivore specific induction of silica-based plant defences. Oecologia, 152(4), 677-683.
- Small mammalian herbivore determines vegetation response to patchy nutrient inputs. Oikos, 116(7), 1186-1192.
- The indirect effect of above-ground herbivory on collembola populations is not mediated by changes in soil water content. Applied Soil Ecology, 36(2-3), 92-99.
- Explaining Leaf Herbivory Rates on Tree Seedlings in a Malaysian Rain Forest. Biotropica, 39(3), 416-421.
- Grasses and the resource availability hypothesis: the importance of silica-based defences. Journal of Ecology, 95(3), 414-424.
- Experimental demonstration of the antiherbivore effects of silica in grasses: impacts on foliage digestibility and vole growth rates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273(1599), 2299-2304.
- Seedling species determines rates of leaf herbivory in a Malaysian rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 22(5), 513-519.
- Sex-related growth and secondary compounds in Juniperus oxycedrus macrocarpa. Acta Oecologica, 29(2), 135-140.
- Manipulation of nutrients and grazing levels on heather moorland: changes in Calluna dominance and consequences for community composition. Journal of Ecology, 93(5), 990-1004.
- The Effect of Recycling on Plant Competitive Hierarchies. The American Naturalist, 165(6), 609-622.
- Long- and short-term induction of defences in seedlings of Shorea leprosula (Dipterocarpaceae): support for the carbon:nutrient balance hypothesis. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 21(2), 195-201.
- The role of food plant and pathogen-induced behaviour in the persistence of a nucleopolyhedrovirus. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 88(1), 49-57.
- The geographical range structure of the holly leaf-miner. IV. Effects of variation in host-plant quality. Journal of Animal Ecology, 73(5), 911-924.
- Food-plant effects on larval performance do not translate into differences in fitness between populations of Panolis flammea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research, 93(6), 553-559.
- Influence of host plant heterogeneity on the distribution of a birch aphid. Ecological Entomology, 28(5), 533-541.
- Host shifting by Operophtera brumata into novel environments leads to population differentiation in life-history traits. Ecological Entomology, 28(5), 604-612.
- Microbial impacts on plant-herbivore interactions: the indirect effects of a birch pathogen on a birch aphid. Oecologia, 134(3), 388-396.
- THE PERILS OF HAVING TASTY NEIGHBORS: GRAZING IMPACTS OF LARGE HERBIVORES AT VEGETATION BOUNDARIES. Ecology, 84(11), 2877-2890.
- Host plant species can influence the fitness of herbivore pathogens: the winter moth and its nucleopolyhedrovirus. Oecologia, 131(4), 533-541.
- Insects as leaf engineers: can leaf-miners alter leaf structure for birch aphids?. Functional Ecology, 16(5), 575-584.
- Host-mediated effects of feeding by winter moth on the survival of Euceraphis betulae. Ecological Entomology, 27(5), 626-630.
- Soil organic matter distribution and below-ground competition between Calluna vulgaris and Nardus stricta. Functional Ecology, 16(5), 664-670.
- Escape from pupal predation as a potential cause of outbreaks of the winter moth, Operophtera brumata. Oikos, 98(2), 219-228.
- Differential selection of baculovirus genotypes mediated by different species of host food plant. Ecology Letters, 5(4), 512-518.
- How do nutrients and warming impact on plant communities and their insect herbivores? A 9‐year study from a sub‐Arctic heath. Journal of Ecology, 90(3), 544-556.
- Herbivory in global climate change research: direct effects of rising temperature on insect herbivores. Global Change Biology, 8(1), 1-16.
- Induced plant resistance. New Phytologist, 149(3), 366-367.
- Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization increases with host density in a heathland community. New Phytologist, 152(2), 355-363.
- Clonal variation in monoterpene concentrations in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) saplings and its effect on their susceptibility to browsing damage by red deer (Cervus elaphus). Forest Ecology and Management, 148(1-3), 259-269.
- The role of resources and natural enemies in determining the distribution of an insect herbivore population. Ecological Entomology, 26(2), 204-211.
- Upland plant communities — sensitivity to change. CATENA, 42(2-4), 333-343.
- Competition between heather and grasses on Scottish moorlands: Interacting effects of nutrient enrichment and grazing regime. Journal of Vegetation Science, 12(2), 249-260.
- Climate warming experiments: are tents a potential barrier to interpretation?. Ecological Entomology, 25(3), 367-370.
- Biosynthesis of plant phenolic compounds in elevated atmospheric CO2. Global Change Biology, 6(5), 497-506.
- Exclusion of grass roots from soil organic layers by Calluna: the role of ericoid mycorrhizas. Journal of Experimental Botany, 51(347), 1117-1125.
- Disarmed by domestication? Induced responses to browsing in wild and cultivated olive. Oecologia, 122(2), 225-231.
- Chemical and morphological variation of Mediterranean woody evergreen species: Do plants respond to ungulate browsing?. Journal of Vegetation Science, 11(1), 1-8.
- Direct and indirect competitive effects of foliage feeding guilds on the performance of the birch leaf-miner Eriocrania. Journal of Animal Ecology, 69(1), 165-176.
- Patterns of spread in insect-pathogen systems: the importance of pathogen dispersal. Oikos, 89(1), 137-145.
- A Protein Competition Model of Phenolic Allocation. Oikos, 86(1), 27-27.
- The effect of habitat structure on carabid communities during the regeneration of a native Scottish forest. Forest Ecology and Management, 119(1-3), 123-136.
- Behavioural responses of the leaf-chewing guild to the presence of Eriocrania mines on silver birch (Betulapendula). Ecological Entomology, 24(2), 156-162.
- Competitive interactions betweenNardus strictaL. andCalluna vulgaris(L.) Hull: the effect of fertilizer and defoliation on above- and below-ground performance. Journal of Ecology, 87(2), 330-340.
- Are Gall Insects Large Rhizobia?. Oikos, 84(2), 333-333.
- Effects of carbon dioxide and nitrogen enrichment on a plant-insect interaction: the quality of Calluna vulgaris as a host for Operophtera brumata. New Phytologist, 140(1), 43-53.
- Impacts of Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on Model Terrestrial Ecosystems. Science, 280(5362), 441-443.
- The effect of previous browsing damage on the morphology and chemical composition of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) saplings and on their subsequent susceptibility to browsing by red deer (Cervus elaphus). Forest Ecology and Management, 103(1), 57-67.
- The chemical composition of plant galls: are levels of nutrients and secondary compounds controlled by the gall-former?. Oecologia, 113(4), 492-501.
- . Plant Ecology, 137(2), 203-212.
- Carabid communities on heather moorlands in northeast Scotland: The consequences of grazing pressure for community diversity. Biological Conservation, 81(3), 275-286.
- Feeding behaviour of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) offered Sitka Spruce saplings (Picea sitchensis) grown under different light and nutrient regimes. Functional Ecology, 11(3), 348-357.
- Phenology of Winter Moth Feeding on Common Heather: Effects of Source Population and Experimental Manipulation of Hatch Dates. The Journal of Animal Ecology, 66(3), 375-375.
- Feeding behaviour of red deer (Cervus elaphus) on sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis): the role of carbon-nutrient balance. Forest Ecology and Management, 88(1-2), 121-129.
- Winter moth (Operophtera brumata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)) outbreaks on Scottish heather moorlands: effects of host plant and parasitoids on larval survival and development. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 86(2), 155-164.
- Population-level variation in plant secondary chemistry, and the population biology of herbivores. Chemoecology, 7(1), 45-56.
- The Effect of Fertiliser and Shading on Plant Chemical Composition and Palatability to Orkney Voles, Microtus arvalis orcadensis. Oikos, 72(1), 79-79.
- The response of Philaenus spumarius (Homoptera: Cercopidae) to fertilizing and shading its moorland host-plant (Calluna vulgaris). Ecological Entomology, 20(4), 396-399.
- Fine-scale discrimination of forage quality by sheep offered a soyabean meal or barley supplement while grazing a nitrogen-fertilized heather (Calluna vulgaris) mosaic. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 123(3), 363-370.
- The effect of monoterpene concentrations in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) on the browsing behaviour of red deer (Cervus elaphus). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 72(10), 1715-1720.
- Book review. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 20(9), 2467-2469.
- Effects of scale on detecting interactions between Coleophora and Eriocrania leaf-miners. Ecological Entomology, 19(3), 257-262.
- Chemical composition of Calluna vulgaris (Ericaceae): Do responses to fertilizer vary with phenological stage?. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 21(3), 315-321.
- Host-Plant Manipulation by Gall-Insects: A Test of the Nutrition Hypothesis. The Journal of Animal Ecology, 61(1), 113-113.
- The insect galls on willow. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences, 98, 91-104.
- What are galls for? Tests of the nutrition hypothesis. Insects-plants '89. Proc. 7th symposium on insect-plant relationships, Budapest, 1989, 265-274.
- Phenolic biosynthesis, leaf damage, and insect herbivory in birch (Betula pendula). Journal of Chemical Ecology, 15(1), 275-283.
- The inhibition of phenolic biosynthesis in damaged and undamaged birch foliage and its effect on insect herbivores. Oecologia, 76(1), 65-70.
- Effects of different types of damage on the chemistry of birch foliage, and the responses of birch feeding insects. Oecologia, 74(3), 432-437.
- The effects of foliage damage on casebearing moth larvae, Coleophora serratella, feeding on birch. Ecological Entomology, 11(3), 241-250.
- Mycorrhizal fungi compromise production of endophytic alkaloids, increasing plant susceptibility to an aphid herbivore. Journal of Ecology.
- Beyond trait distances: Functional distinctiveness captures the outcome of plant competition. Functional Ecology.
- Induction of silicon defences in wheat landraces is local not systemic and driven by mobilisation of soluble silicon to damaged leaves. Journal of Experimental Botany.
- Associational resistance through intercropping reduces yield losses to soil‐borne pests and diseases. New Phytologist.
- Plant traits of grass and legume species for flood resilience and N
2
O mitigation. Functional Ecology.
- Short‐term exposure to silicon rapidly enhances plant resistance to herbivory. Ecology.
- Targeted plant defense: silicon conserves hormonal defense signaling impacting chewing but not fluid‐feeding herbivores. Ecology.
- Silicon deposition on guard cells increases stomatal sensitivity as mediated by K
+
efflux and consequently reduces stomatal conductance. Physiologia Plantarum.
- Silicon: its ameliorative effect on plant defense against herbivory. Journal of Experimental Botany.
- The Role of Silicon in Antiherbivore Phytohormonal Signalling. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10.
- Aphids Influence Soil Fungal Communities in Conventional Agricultural Systems. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10.
- Plant silicon effects on insect feeding dynamics are influenced by plant nitrogen availability. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata.
- Benefits from Below: Silicon Supplementation Maintains Legume Productivity under Predicted Climate Change Scenarios. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9.
- Evidence for Active Uptake and Deposition of Si-based Defenses in Tall Fescue. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8.
- DRI-Grass: A New Experimental Platform for Addressing Grassland Ecosystem Responses to Future Precipitation Scenarios in South-East Australia. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7.
- Leaf Colour as a Signal of Chemical Defence to Insect Herbivores in Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea). PLOS ONE, 10(9), e0136884-e0136884.
- Defending the leaf surface: intra- and inter-specific differences in silicon deposition in grasses in response to damage and silicon supply. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6.
- Silicon, endophytes and secondary metabolites as grass defenses against mammalian herbivores. Frontiers in Plant Science, 5.
- Effects of Elevated CO2 on Litter Chemistry and Subsequent Invertebrate Detritivore Feeding Responses. PLoS ONE, 9(1), e86246-e86246.
- Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Triggers Compensatory Feeding by Root Herbivores on a C3 but Not a C4 Grass. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e90251-e90251.
- A Collaboratively-Derived Science-Policy Research Agenda. PLoS ONE, 7(3), e31824-e31824.
- Neighbourhood composition determines growth, architecture and herbivory in tropical rain forest tree seedlings. Journal of Ecology, 94(3), 646-655.
- Silica in grasses as a defence against insect herbivores: contrasting effects on folivores and a phloem feeder. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75(2), 595-603.
- Indirect effects of grazing and nutrient addition on the hemipteran community of heather moorlands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 40(5), 793-803.
- Short‐term resistance that persists: Rapidly induced silicon anti‐herbivore defence affects carbon‐based plant defences. Functional Ecology.
- Leaf silicification provides herbivore defence regardless of the extensive impacts of water stress. Functional Ecology.
- Silicon enrichment alters functional traits in legumes depending on plant genotype and symbiosis with nitrogen‐fixing bacteria. Functional Ecology.
- Interactions between silicon and alkaloid defences in endophyte‐infected grasses and the consequences for a folivore. Functional Ecology.
Chapters
- Impacts of climate change on trophic interactions in grasslands, Grasslands and Climate Change (pp. 188-202). Cambridge University Press
- Plant secondary metabolites and the interactions between plants and other organisms, The Ecology of Plant Secondary Metabolites (pp. 204-225). Cambridge University Press
- The Ecology of Plant Secondary Metabolites From Genes to Global Processes Preface, ECOLOGY OF PLANT SECONDARY METABOLITES: FROM GENES TO GLOBAL PROCESSES (pp. XIII-XV).
- Plant secondary metabolites and the interactions between plants and other organisms: the potential of a metabolomic approach, ECOLOGY OF PLANT SECONDARY METABOLITES: FROM GENES TO GLOBAL PROCESSES (pp. 204-225).
- Preface, Biotic Interactions in the Tropics (pp. xi-xvi). Cambridge University Press
- Have the impacts of insect herbivores on the growth of tropical tree seedlings been underestimated?, Biotic Interactions in the Tropics (pp. 347-365). Cambridge University Press
- The integrative roles of plant secondary metabolites in natural systems, The Ecology of Plant Secondary Metabolites (pp. 1-9). Cambridge University Press
- Going with the flow: plant vascular systems mediate indirect interactions between plants, insect herbivores, and hemi-parasitic plants, Ecological Communities (pp. 51-74). Cambridge University Press
- Plant Interactions with Biotic Factors John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- Plant Chemistry and Herbivory, or Why the World is Green, Plant Ecology (pp. 284-324). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Conference proceedings papers
- Agrivoltaics in East Africa: Opportunities and challenges. AGRIVOLTAICS2020 CONFERENCE: Launching Agrivoltaics World-wide
- ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON THE PRODUCTION OF SILICA PHYTOLITHS IN GRASSES- POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR GLOBAL SILICA CYCLING. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs
- Concepts for General Surveillance of Genetically Modified (GM) Plants: The EFSA position. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, Vol. 1(S1) (pp 15-20)
- Plant diversity and insect herbivores: effects of environmental change in contrasting model systems. Oikos, Vol. 101(1) (pp 6-17)
Preprints
- Convergent evidence for temperature-dependent emergence of silicification in terrestrial plants, Research Square Platform LLC.
- Benefits of silicon-enhanced root nodulation in a model legume are contingent upon rhizobial efficacy, Authorea, Inc..
- Plant herbivore protection by arbuscular mycorrhizas: A role for fungal diversity?, Center for Open Science.
- Harvesting the sun twice: Energy, food and water benefits from agrivoltaics in East Africa. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 208, 115066-115066.
- Research group
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Recent Research PhD students
Marie-Emma Denarié (2024 – 2027)
Improving plant resilience to biotic and abiotic stress via silicon accumulation
Western Sydney University, with Prof Scott JohnsonSajjad Reyhani Haghighi (2023 – 2026)
Interactive effect of climatic events on silicon defences against herbivores
Western Sydney University, with Prof Scott JohnsonKatie Shaw (2022 – 2025)
BBSRC White Rose DTP - Silicon enhances stomatal function and protects crop yields, University of Sheffield with Prof Julie Gray and Prof Andrew FlemingJoris Wiethase (2019 - 2023)
NERC DTP - Identifying the mechanisms linking savannah degradation and bird distribution change. University of York, Co-supervisor, with Dr Colin BealeRocky Putra (2018 - 2021)
GRS- funded fellowship supported by Association of Australian Steel Mills and University of York - How silicon kick-starts nitrogen fixation in legumes and what this means for insect food-webs, Western Sydney University, with Assoc Prof Scott Johnson and Assoc Prof Jeff PowellJamie Waterman (2018 - 2021)
GRS-funded fellowship - Primed for retaliation: how silicon helps plants “remember” herbivore attack Western Sydney University, with Assoc Prof Scott Johnson and Dr Chris CazonelliXimena Cibils-Stewart (2018 - 2021)
Argentine Government Scholarship - How mutualistic fungi augment silicon-based Western Sydney University, with Assoc Prof Scott Johnson and Assoc Prof Jeff PowellSarah Thorne (2017- 2021)
BBSRC DTP - Increasing wheat yields with silicon University of York, with Prof Frans MaathuisElizabeth Parker (2015 - 2022)
BBSRC DTP, White Rose Network - The role of AMF in drought alleviation in crops: identifying the underpinning physiological mechanisms University of Sheffield, with Prof Duncan CameronPierre van Griethuysen (2014-2020)
BBSRC Training Award - Plant-nematode-virus interactions: potential influence on the feeding behaviour of free-living nematodes by the viruses they transmit University of York, with Dr Kelly Redeker, Prof Roy Neilson, James Hutton InstituteCurrent and recent Post-docs Research Fellows
Sarah Thorne (2022 – 2027)
University Research Fellowship - the role of silicon in plant resistance to plant biotic and abiotic stress.Richard Randle-Boggis (2020 - 2023)
ESRC GCRF award - Harvesting the Sun Twice: Enhancing livelihoods in East African agricultural communities through innovations in solar energy.Rebecca Vandegeer (2017 - 2020)
ARC Discovery project - Down to earth defence: unlocking silicon-derived defences for plant protection against root herbivores and drought. Western Sydney University, Dr Scott Johnson, Prof David Tissue.Adam Hejnowicz (2016 - 2020)
ESRC Large Centre award - Centre for Evaluating Complexity Across the Nexus. Lead PI Prof Nigel Gilbert, University of Surrey.
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Jisc Research and Innovation strategy forum group (2023 – present)
- UUK/Jisc content negotiation strategy group (2020 - 2024)
- Honorary membership of British Ecological Society (2021)
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to ecological research and public engagement, Queen’s Birthday Honours (2019)
- Board member, Natural England (2018 – 2021)
- Trustee, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2016 – 2022)
- President, British Ecological Society (2015 – 2017)
- British Ecological Society Award for service to the ecological community (2012)
- Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer (2009)
- British Ecological Society President’s Medal for contributions to ecological research (2009)
- One Earth (Editorial Advisory Board); new high tier journal in Environmental Sustainability from Cell. (2019-present)
- Global Change Biology (Subject Editor) (2017-2020)
- Kew Science Review panel (2019)
- External Review panel for Plant Sciences in Cambridge (2019)
- Royal Academy of Sciences International Assessment Panel (2018)
- Chair Advisory Group for the NERC/BBSRC joint National Capability Programme for sustainable intensification of agriculture (2016- 2019)
- External Advisory Board, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford (2016)
- BBSRC Strategy Advisory Panel on Agriculture and Food Security (2015 - 2018)
- Chair of BBSRC/NERC/ESRC Sustainable Agriculture Research Innovation Club (2014 – 2019)
- Peer Review Evaluation of Wageningen University (2009)
- BBBSRC Foresight panel on research relevant to environmental change (2007-2009)
- UKRI panel for the Global Challenges Research Fund (2017-2018)
- UKRI panel for Future Leaders Fellowships (2017-2019)
- Royal Society’s Newton International Fellowships panel (2008-2011)
- Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs; Chair, ACRE Working group on Environmental Monitoring of GM crops (1999-2006)
- Ad-Hoc Expert, GMO Panel of European Food Safety Authority Expert Witness, World Trade Organisation (2004-2009)