I am an early career researcher with a broad interest in peatlands. I arrived at SLU in 2019 and defended my PhD thesis in 2020. I have a permanent technical position at Svartberget field station maintaining and managing the data from our, 18 and counting, Eddy Covariance systems. In addition to this technical position, I also have my own research funding (50%) which allows me to pursue the topics I find most interesting and maintain research collaborations. My research involves both Eddy Covariance data and peat soil cores. I am a 'bibliophile' and enjoy reading the older literature. I place a high value on observational Science, particularly as a starting point for a hypothesis. As such, I belive it is necessary to spend time within the ecosystems we study.
My research is focused on peatlands and in particular tree-covered peatlands. I have a background in paleoecology and geochemistry but have more recently worked with Eddy Covariance and contemporary greenhouse gas fluxes. What I currently find most interesting is 1) the role of nutrients in peatland carbon cycling 2) the role of tree cover on peat 3) natural variation in carbon accumulation within peatlands.
I have ongoing collaborations in New Zealand, Scotland and Iceland. These are focused on the effect of tree cover on peat, carbon Accumulation in salt marsh, the role of phosphorus derived from fire, volcanic ash and tree pollen in peatland carbon cycling and the role of volcanic ash generally in peatland carbon preservation and plant primary productivity.
I grew up in the peat-covered landscape of the Lake District in Northern England, holidaying in the even peatier Western Isles of Scotland with my Grandmother.
I wrote my undergraduate dissertation in 2011 on nutrient additions to peat at the Moore House National Nature Reserve in the North Pennines and then went on to work for a season as an assistant ecologist at Ben Lawers Nature Reserve studying high alpine meadows and assessing the habitat condition of high altitude blanket bog.
In 2013 I obtained a scholarship to go on to complete my MSc at the University of Highlands and Islands in Caithness, Scotland where I studied the role of tree planatations on deep blanket peat and went on to develop an interest in peat carbon accumulation generally.
In 2014 I compiled and analysed a large database of peatland paleoecological research with my former supervisor and mentor Dr. Richard Payne.
In 2015 I started a PhD in Hamilton, New Zealand using Eddy Covariance to measure carbon fluxes in drained and intact peatlands as well as re-visiting an older drained site after 18 years to repeat the measurements. I quite unexpectedly stumbled upon the role of phosphorus, derived from volcanic ash, which was a far more powerful driver of peatland carbon exchange than climate.
Since 2019 I have been based in Northern Sweden, seeking to better understand high-latitude peatlands and particularly the spatial variability in CO2 exchange and sequestration rates
In 2022 I finally obtained a permanent position here at SLU!
Ehnvall, B., Ågren, A.M., Nilsson, M.B., Ratcliffe, J.L., Noumonvi, K.D., Peichl, M., Lidberg, W., Giesler, R., Mörth, C.M. and Öquist, M.G., 2023. Catchment characteristics control boreal mire nutrient regime and vegetation patterns over~ 5000 years of landscape development. Science of The Total Environment, p.165132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165132
Noumonvi, K.D., Ågren, A.M., Ratcliffe, J.L., Öquist, M.G., Ericson, L., Tong, C.H.M., Järveoja, J., Zhu, W., Osterwalder, S., Peng, H. and Erefur, C., The Kulbäcksliden Research Infrastructure: a unique setting for northern peatland studies. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11, p.657. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1194749
Ehnvall, B., Ratcliffe, J.L., Bohlin, E., Nilsson, M.B., Öquist, M.G., Sponseller, R.A. and Grabs, T., 2023. Landscape constraints on mire lateral expansion. Quaternary Science Reviews, 302, p.107961 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.107961
Zhao P., Chi J., Nilsson M., Ottosson M., Högberg P., Jocher G., Lim H., Mäkelä A., Marshall J., Ratcliffe J., Tian X., Näsholm T., Lundmark T., Linder S., Peichl M. Long-term nitrogen addition raises the annual carbon sink of a boreal forest to a new steady-state. 2022. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109112
Ratcliffe, J.L., Peng, H., Nijp, J.J. et al. Lateral expansion of northern peatlands calls into question a 1,055 GtC estimate of carbon storage. Nat. Geosci. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00770-9
