Dr Naomi Gatis
Research Fellow
N.Gatis@exeter.ac.uk
5892
+44 (0) 1392 725892
CREWW Building
Overview
I am interested in the effects of landscape management (peatland restoration, afforestation, natural woodland recolonisation, regenerative agriculture) on ecosystem function, with a focus on vegetation change, carbon cycling and climate change adaptation.
I use a range of field-based methods including dynamic greenhouse gas flux measurements (survey, continuous chamber and eddy covariance) and vegetation and soil surveys. As well as proximal (digital cameras, terrestrial laser scanner), distal (drone mounted true-colour and multispectral cameras, aerial photography, LiDAR, airborne radiometric survey) and satellite (Sentinel 1 and 2) remotely sensed data together with geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to investigate links between land management decisions; vegetation community, structure and distribution; and the resultant effects on carbon stocks and cycles from plot to landscape extents.
Qualifications
PhD Physical Geography entitled "Determining the effects of peatland restoration on carbon dioxide exchange and its potential for climate change mitigation" (University of Exeter)
BSc Environmental Geoscience (University of Edinburgh)
MSc Applied Hydrogeology (University of Newcastle)
Research
Research interests
Current Projects
- Nature for Climate Change Peatland Grant Scheme – Mapping peat extent across the Southwest. Understanding and quantifying the effects of restoration on carbon fluxes both aqueous and gaseous.
- Net Zero Plus - Quantifying carbon storage (above/below ground, woody and soil) and fluxes (soil respiration and net ecosystem exchange) in a variety of treescapes to understand the greenhouse gas removal potential of afforestation. https://netzeroplus.ac.uk/
- MOD Mapping Project - Using high temporal and spatial resolution satellite data (Sentinel 1 & 2) to map habitats across the Army estate.
- RePEAT - To assess how accurately the carbon stock of peatlands can be estimated by remotely sensed data, and to estimate peatland carbon stocks in representative Norwegian development project sites.
Previous Research
- SWEEP 023 Woodlands to Moorlands - (2021-2022) Using emerging, high temporal and spatial resolution satellite data (Sentinel 2) to map habitat type and change across Dartmoor National Park. https://sweep.ac.uk/portfolios/habitat-mapping/
- Upstream Thinking 3 - (2020-2021) Investigating potential sources of poor water quality in several drinking water catchments in the Southwest.
- Mires on the Moors – (2014 – 2020) Research to quantify and understand the greenhouse gas fluxes from the peatlands of southwest England and how they are altered by ecohydrological restoration. https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/creww/research/casestudies/miresproject/
Publications
Journal articles
Grand-Clement E, Luscombe DJ, Anderson K, Gatis N, Benaud P, Brazier RE (In Press). Antecedent conditions control carbon loss and downstream water quality from shallow, damaged peatlands. Science of the Total Environment, 493, 961-973.
Gatis N, Anderson K, Grand-Clement E, Luscombe D, Hartley I, Smith D, Brazier R (In Press). Evaluating MODIS vegetation products using digital images for quantifying local peatland CO2 gas fluxes. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
Grand-Clement E, Anderson K, Smith D, Angus M, Luscombe D, Gatis N, Bray L, Brazier R (In Press). NEW APPROACHES TO THE RESTORATION OF SHALLOW MARGINAL PEATLANDS. Journal of Environmental Management Abstract.
Gatis N, Luscombe D, Grand-Clement E, Hartley I, Anderson K, Smith DM, Brazier RE (In Press). The effect of drainage ditches on vegetation diversity and CO2 fluxes in a Molinia caerulea dominated peatland. Ecohydrology
Bateman IJ, Anderson K, Argles A, Belcher C, Betts RA, Binner A, Brazier RE, Cho FHT, Collins RM, Day BH, et al (2023). A review of planting principles to identify the right place for the right tree for ‘net zero plus’ woodlands: Applying a place-based natural capital framework for sustainable, efficient and equitable (SEE) decisions. People and Nature, 5(2), 271-301. Abstract.
Gatis N, Benaud P, Anderson K, Ashe J, Grand-Clement E, Luscombe DJ, Puttock A, Brazier RE (2023). Peatland restoration increases water storage and attenuates downstream stormflow but does not guarantee an immediate reversal of long-term ecohydrological degradation. Sci Rep, 13(1). Abstract. Author URL.
Luscombe DJ, Gatis N, Anderson K, Carless D, Brazier RE (2023). Rapid, repeatable landscape-scale mapping of tree, hedgerow, and woodland habitats (THaW), using airborne LiDAR and spaceborne SAR data. Ecol Evol, 13(5). Abstract. Author URL.
Gatis N, Carless D, Luscombe DJ, Brazier RE, Anderson K (2022). An operational land cover and land cover change toolbox: processing open‐source data with open‐source software. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3(3). Abstract.
Gatis N, Luscombe DJ, Benaud P, Ashe J, Grand-Clement E, Anderson K, Hartley IP, Brazier RE (2020). Drain blocking has limited short-term effects on greenhouse gas fluxes in a Molinia caerulea dominated shallow peatland. Ecological Engineering, 158, 106079-106079.
Gatis N, Benaud P, Ashe J, Luscombe D, Grand-Clement E, Hartley I, Anderson K, Brazier R (2019). ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF PEAT EROSION ON GROWING SEASON CO2 FLUXES BY COMPARING EROSIONAL PEAT PANS AND SURROUNDING VEGETATED HAGGS. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 1-19. Abstract.
Gatis N, Grand-Clement E, Luscombe DJ, Hartley IP, Anderson K, Brazier RE (2019). Growing season CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes from a drained peatland dominated by <i>Molinia caerulea</i>. MIRES AND PEAT, 24 Author URL.
Carless D, Luscombe DJ, Gatis N, Anderson K, Brazier RE (2019). Mapping landscape-scale peatland degradation using airborne lidar and multispectral data. Landscape Ecology, 34, 1329-1345.
Gatis N, Luscombe D, Carless D, Parry L, Fyfe R, Harrod T, Brazier RE, Anderson K (2018). Mapping upland peat depth using airborne radiometric and lidar survey data. Geoderma, 335, 78-89. Abstract.
Luscombe DJ, Anderson K, Grand-Clement E, Gatis N, Ashe J, Benaud P, Smith D, Brazier RE (2016). How does drainage alter the hydrology of shallow degraded peatlands across multiple spatial scales?. Journal of Hydrology, 541, 1329-1339. Abstract.
Luscombe DJ, Anderson K, Gatis N, Grand-Clement E, Brazier RE (2015). Using airborne thermal imaging data to measure near-surface hydrology in upland ecosystems. Hydrological Processes, 29(6), 1656-1668. Abstract.
Luscombe DJ, Anderson K, Gatis N, Wetherelt A, Grand-Clement E, Brazier RE (2014). What does airborne LiDAR really measure in upland ecosystems?. Ecohydrology Abstract.
Grand-Clement E, Anderson K, Smith D, Luscombe D, Gatis N, Ross M, Brazier RE (2013). Evaluating ecosystem goods and services after restoration of marginal upland peatlands in South-West England. J Appl Ecol, 50(2), 324-334. Author URL.
Conferences
Goodger L, Gatis N, Benaud P, Anderson K, Brazier R (2023). Can thin peats sequester carbon?. Abstract.
Benaud P, Gatis N, Goodger L, Anderson K, Brazier RE (2023). How does peatland restoration alter hydrological function and fluvial carbon exports?. Abstract.
Gatis N, Galstaun L, Luscombe D, Vanguelova E, Hill T, Xenakis G, Wilkinson M, Heard M, Anderson K, Morrison J, et al (2023). How does the potential to sequester carbon via short rotation forestry vary with species?. EGU General Assembly 2023. 24th - 28th Apr 2023. Abstract.
