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Dr Paul J. Morris

Dr Paul J. Morris

  • Position: Associate Professor of Biogeoscience
  • Areas of expertise: peatlands | wetlands | climate | hydrology | biogeography | environmental change
  • Email: P.J.Morris@leeds.ac.uk
  • Phone: +44(0)113 343 9585
  • Location: 10.30 Garstang Building
  • Website: Twitter | Googlescholar | ORCID

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
  • Leeds Quaternary Co-Leader

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.
<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

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:

  • GEOG1055 Environmental Change: Past and Future (module leader)
  • GEOG1081 Data Analysis in Physical Geography (module leader in Semester 2)
  • GEOG2014 Field Class: The Dyanmic Environment (module leader)
  • GEOG2085 Ecosystems: Process, Pattern and Change
  • GEOG2095 Level 2 Dissertation Support Group
  • GEOG3605 Physical Geography Dissertation

Current PhD Students

Dan Colson. Remote Sensing of Recent Changes in Northern Peatlands. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2020-24).

Richard Fewster. The Past, Present and Future of Permafrost Peatlands. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2019-23).

Former PhD Students

Marie Arnaud. Belowground Carbon Cycling in Mangrove Forests. Funded by Leeds Anniversary Research Scholarship (2016-20). Current employment: Research Fellow, National Institute for Ocean Science (IFREMER), La Rochelle, France.

Tom Sim. Response of Pan-Arctic Permafrost Peatlands to Climate Change. Funded by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (2018-22). Current employment: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Exeter.

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: Research Fellow in Wetland Science, University of Leeds.

Former MSc by Research Students

Richard Fewster. Holocene Climate Space of North American Permafrost Peatlands. Self-funded (2018-19). Currently studying for a PhD with me. 

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 a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeter.

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 at the University of Leeds, with Prof. Duncan Quincey and Dr. Mark Smith, before being appointed as a Lecturer at the University of Leeds. 

Research groups and institutes

  • River Basin Processes and Management

Current postgraduate researchers

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>
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>