Position: Professor Address: York Institute for Tropical Ecosystems Environment Department University of York Heslington York YO10 5DD United Kingdom Email: robert.marchant@york.ac.uk Website: Departmental website
ERC Synergy Grants 2025 highlights
Synergy Grants 2025: Examples of projects 6 November 2025 Originally posted https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/synergy-grants-2025-examples-projects How do you solve science’s toughest puzzles? By joining forces. Sixty-six research teams, bringing together 239 scientists, will receive a total of €684 million in European Research Council Synergy Grants to tackle some of the most challenging scientific questions across a broad range […]
Introducing the new MCAA brand and website
We are proud to share with you our new brand identity and website. This comprehensive update, effective immediately, improves our alignment with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme and enhances compliance with accessibility requirements, ensuring a more inclusive experience for our diverse, global network. The brand is a visual evolution that reflects our new motto, […]
AFRI-CAN: New ERC-Funded Project
to Advance East African Mountain Futures (07.11.2025) article written by MRI, originally posted: https://mountainresearchinitiative.org/news/afri-can-new-erc-funded-project-to-advance-east-african-mountain-futures/ 07.11.25 | 10:11h We are delighted to share that Professor Rob Marchant, former member of the MRI Science Leadership Council and current co-lead of our Mountain Social-Ecological Futures working group, will head the AFRI-CAN project to explore East African mountain social ecological […]
Montane forest changes of East Africa
Githumbi EN, Finch J, Kinyanjui RN, Courtney-Mustaphi C, Musili P, Rucina S, Lejju J, Liljenberg P, Marchant R. 2025. Late Quaternary montane forest dynamics from equatorial East Africa: a biome perspective. Journal of Biogeography 52(9): e15173. [CC BY 4.0 Open Access]
New ARCC project study on past fires around Serengeti
Research Context Soils of Serengeti have been characterised at relatively broad scales (Jager, 1982; Scoon, 2018; Hengl et al., 2015) and are an important influence on vegetation cover and biodiversity (Timbuka and Kabigumila, 2006; Sinclair et al., 2008; Mbise, 2015). The disturbance ecology on the kopje rock outcrops themselves has not investigated in much detail. […]
New publication promotes paleoecological data to understand planetary boundaries
How #paleoecology insights can be integrated into the #planetary health framework to improve our understanding of global #environmental change, and navigate a challenging future, are explored in a new commentary article (Gillson et al., 2025; Bayles et al., 2025). How #paleoecology insights can be integrated into the #planetary health framework to improve our understanding of […]
REAL project Final Report Archived in CORDIS
Resilience in East African Landscapes: Identifying critical thresholds and sustainable trajectories – past, present and future REAL Project Web Documentary “CHANGES” Project Information Grant agreement ID: 606879 Start date: 1 September 2013End date: 31 August 2017 Funded under Total cost € 3 968 063,33 Objectives (CORDIS) The strong temporal dynamics of the East African landscape […]
Videos
REAL Project Web Documentary “CHANGES” REAL ITN members and IIAC-CNRS/EHESS. 2017. “CHANGES”. REAL changes digital documentary. http://www.real-project.eu/changes/ http://webdocs-sciences-sociales.science/real/ University of York Africa Research Network Videos created by REAL members Webinars and recorded seminars https://pecs-science.org/webinar-rebecca-kariuki-on-participatory-scenario-planning-for-conservation/ Creating Socio-Environmental Scenarios Webinar. University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and Resources for the Future. Wed. 20 October 2021, 15:00-16:30 […]
New publication of a site in Mozambique!
A new study site on the inaccessible Mount Lico, Mozambique, explores the history of forest fire disturbances to the drier leeward forests over the past 7000 years. Evidence from charcoal in the soil pit and current tree demographics suggests that fire activity has recently increased during the past few hundred to 1000 years ago. We […]
Ancient Lake Victoria: 17000 years ago to present
Our knowledge of the paleoenvironmental changes of Lake Victoria has grown over the past few years with the efforts of Researchers and PhDs involved in the Swiss SNF funded Sinergia Lake Victoria project (SNSF, 2018), based at EAWAG and University of Bern; and the Swedish Research Council funded ARCC project (Scaini et al 2024 Ambio). […]
Call for submissions to Special issues on Conservation and Future Land Use Changes
Dr Rebecca Kariuki is a guest editor for two special issues: Impacts of People’s Engagement in Nature Conservation Frontiers in Conservation Science Call for submissions [PDF] Manuscript Submission Deadline 31 May 2023 People’s participation and support for natural resource conservation have increasingly emerged as essential ingredients all over the world. These processes have evolved towards […]
New paper on past Mount Kenya forest fires
New paper out on long term forest fire interactions on Mount Kenya https://t.co/TCIiA5VXJl #mountkenya #JQS @YorkEnvironment @museumsofkenya @York_IGDC — Rob Marchant (@marchant_robert) August 23, 2022 Courtney-Mustaphi CJ, Rucina S, Marchant, R. 2022 in press. Late Pleistocene montane forest fire return interval estimates from Mount Kenya. Journal of Quaternary Science. DOI:10.1002/jqs.3466