Scott J Davidson, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor in Wetland Carbon Dynamics in the Département des sciences biologiques at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). I completed my undergraduate degree in Geography at the University of Dundee, UK in 2012 and my MSc in Polar and Alpine Change at the University of Sheffield, UK in 2013. In 2017 I was awarded my PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK, looking at greenhouse gas emissions from arctic tundra landscapes in Alaska. I was a Lecturer in Ecosystem Resilience at the University of Plymouth between August 2021 and May 2025. My research is focused on the resilience of peatland and wetland ecosystems to both climate change and disturbance regimes. My research combines field research, laboratory analysis, remote sensing and modelling approaches to better constrain spatio-temporal dynamics of wetland ecosystems. I have nearly a decade’s experience working in northern latitude ecosystems in both Europe and North America. Since 2016, I have published 40 publications in a variety of high impact journals with >1200 citations to date. I am also an Adjunct Associate Professor at La Trobe University, Australia. I am a co-founder of both the Wet Woodland Research Network and PEAT: Peatland ECR Action Team, which connects early career peatland scientists globally to develop a diverse, inclusive, and supportive research community and I am currently the co-Chair of the British Ecological Society’s Peatlands and Wetlands Special Interest Group.

Curriculum vitae

Research Professionals

Léonie Perrier, Msc

Coordinatrice de recherche de la Chaire du Québec sur l’étude du carbone dans les milieux humides comme solution naturelle aux changements climatiques (CARCLIQUE)

Research coordinator of the Quebec Research Chair on the study of carbon in wetlands as a natural solution to climate change (CARCLIQUE)

PhD Students

Lead supervision:

Emma Duley

Understanding ecosystem dynamics in peat-forming temperate wet woodlands

ARIES DTP Studentship
(2023-2027)

Co-supervisors: Dr Alice Milner (RHUL), Dr Tom Roland (University of Exeter), Dr Jessie Woodbridge (University of Plymouth) and Dr Angie Milne (University of Plymouth)

Co-supervision:

Georgina Freer-Carmichael

Assessment of the co-benefits of Natural Flood Management interventions

2022-2026

Lead supervisor: Dr Paul Lunt (University of Plymouth)

Izadora Kervin

Developing capacity in ex situ conservation for threatened bryophytes

2023-2029 (PT)

Lead supervisor: Dr Jenny Rowntree (University of Plymouth)

Emily Simpson

Beavers and climate change mitigation in freshwater systems

IAPETUS DTP Studentship 2023-2027

Lead supervisor: Dr Alan Law (University of Stirling)

Dylan Oliver

Maximising ecosystem service provision from wet woodlands for policy and practice

2025-2029

Lead supervisor: Dr Alice Milner (RHUL)

Crystal Ahiable

The forgotten forests: understanding the future of wet woodlands as carbon-dense ecosystems

2023-2027

Lead supervisor: Dr Alice Milner (RHUL)

MSc students

Justin Yu

Building a baseline of carbon stocks in boreal swamps

2024-2026

(Co-supervised with Dr Maria Strack (University of Waterloo)

Elly Longley

Carbon fluxes from intact and disturbed alpine peatlands (wildfire) across the Bogong High Plains, Australia

2025-2027

(Co-supervised with Dr Aleicia Holland (La Trobe University)

Frédérique Turmel

Carbon stocks and fluxes of the Barachois de Malbaie salt marsh in Gaspésie, Eastern Canada

2024 – 2026

(Co-supervised with Prof. Michelle Garneau (UQAM)

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Completed students

PhD students

Natasha Underwood PhD (2021-2024) (University of Plymouth) Ecological and biogeochemical benefits of environmental enhancements at Moorlinch on the Somerset Levels

MSc students

Oscar Kemble ResM (2024-2025) (University of Plymouth) – Evaluating progress towards blanket bog vegetation restoration

Meg Schmidt MSc (2019-2021) (University of Waterloo) – Impacts of seismic line restoration on CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes and vegetation biomass

Rosie Oliver MSc (2021-2022) (University of Plymouth) – Soil P indices in the Somerset Levels and Moors: a technical evaluation of their value in predicting environmental pollution risk

Jamie Huntriss MSc (2022-2023) (University of Plymouth) – An analysis of wet woodland carbon stocks based on peat core samples: a study of Slapton Ley wet woodland

Caitlin Richards MSc (2022-2023) (University of Plymouth) – Environmental controls on CO₂ exchange in a wet woodland in South Devon and the implications of a changing climate

Robert Jones MSc (2022-2023) (University of Plymouth) – Understanding the susceptibility to and recovery from wildfire in peatlands using remote sensing

Eleanor Wiltshire MSc (2022-2023) (University of Plymouth) – Assessing the impacts of nitrate and ammonium on water quality in five Devon rivers between 2020 – 2022

Archie Mortimer MSc (2023-2024) (University of Plymouth) – Assessing the belowground carbon stocks of nationally scarce bog woodland in Scotland

Jill Ashley MSC (2023-2024) (University of Plymouth) – An investigation of the green leaf phenology of a canopy in Bobiri Forest, a semi-deciduous tropical forest in West Africa

Undergraduate research assistants

Billy Fullwood (June – August 2024) (University of Plymouth) – ARIES Research Experience Placement: Using dendrochronology to understand climate and land-use pressures on wet woodland ecosystem