Dr Paul J. Morris

Profile

My research aims to understand the role of wetlands in the Earth system, and their response to external drivers such as climate and human alteration. I am particularly interested in carbon-dense wetlands such as peatlands and mangroves. I use modelling, field and laboratory techniques in the pursuit of my research questions.

You can find a full list of my publications at the bottom of this page. 

Responsibilities

• Programme Leader: BSc Geography, BSc Geography and Geology

Research interests

• The long-term (millennial) development of peatland and mangrove ecosystems, soils, carbon stores and hydrological functions. 
• The response of peatlands to disturbances such as wildfire, future climate change and land-use change, on timescales that are meaningful to humans (seasonal to decadal). 
• Improving process-based understanding of peatland hydrological processes, including groundwater-surface water interactions and controls on peat hydraulic properties.

• Antheia: Multi-decadal monitoring of open water cover on northern peatlands

Qualifications

• 2010: PhD, Queen Mary University of London
• 2004: BSc Geography, University of Sheffield

Professional memberships

• Since 2019: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Student education

I currently teach on the following undergraduate modules:

• GEOG1040 Dynamic Landscapes
• GEOG1175 Exploring the Physical Environment
• GEOG1400 Digital Geographies (module leader)
• GEOG2017 Mallorca Field Class (module leader)
• GEOG2095 Skills for Physical Geographers
• GEOG3605 Physical Geography Dissertation
• GEOG3675 Geographical Research Opportunities (module leader)

Current PhD students

Holly Addis. Large-scale Developmental Dynamics of Northern Peatlands. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2024-28, due to begin studies October 2024).

Dan Colson. Multi-decadal Changes in Open-water Areas on Northern Peatlands. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2020-24).

Robin Gledhill. Using Palaeoecology to Support Blanket Peatland Management. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2023-27).

Former PhD students

Marie Arnaud. Belowground Carbon Cycling in Mangrove Forests. Funded by Leeds Anniversary Research Scholarship (2016-20). Current employment: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Paris Sorbonne University.

Richard Fewster. Changing Ecology, Hydrology and Permafrost in Circum-Arctic Peatlands. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2019-23). Current employment: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Queen's University Belfast.

Tom Sim. Response of Pan-Arctic Permafrost Peatlands to Climate Change. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2018-22). Current employment: Experimental Scientist, Forest Research, Edinburgh.

Jiren Xu. The Role of Peatlands in Global and Regional Drinking Water Resources. Jointly funded by Chinese Scholarship Council and University of Leeds (2015-19). Current employment: Lecturer, University of Glasgow.

Former MSc by Research students

Richard Fewster. Holocene Climate Space of North American Permafrost Peatlands. Self-funded (2018-19). After his MSc, Richard studied for a PhD with me, and has since gone on to work as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Queen's University Belfast. 

Peter Gill. Simulating Blanket Peatland Development over Millennial Timescales Using a New Version of the DigiBog Model. Self-funded (2016-18). After his MSc, Pete took a job as a Big-Data Engineer with HSBC.

Adam Hartley. Surface and near-surface runoff processes in peatland catchments. Self-funded (2020-20). Currently studying for a PhD at Queen Mary University of London.

Tom Sim. Pathways for Ecological Change in Canadian High Arctic Wetlands Under Rapid Twentieth Century Warming. Self-funded (2017-18). After his MSc, Tom studied for a PhD, and now works as an Experimental Scientist for Forest Research, Edinburgh.

Liam Taylor. Changing Hydrology and Carbon Storage of Permafrost Peatlands. Part-funded by Ecology and Global Change Research Cluster (2017-18). After his MSc, Liam studied for a PhD in glaciology, before being appointed as a Lecturer at the University of Leeds. 

Research groups and institutes

• River Basin Processes and Management

Current postgraduate researchers

• Thomas Sim
• Daniel Colson

Projects

<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/1641-pan-tropical-analysis-of-peat-hydraulic-conductivity">Pan-tropical analysis of peat hydraulic conductivity</a></li>