Dr Dylan Young

Profile

My main focus is interdisciplinary research where I work on incorporating or coupling land users' inputs into simulation models. I am interested in the impact of peatland land use and in the development of ecosytem models as a way to provide insights into the dynamics of peat accumulation over decades to centuries. I am also interested in working with stakeholders to help develop, parameterise, and validate models to assist land management decision-making. Previsoulsy these models have included the DigiBog peatland development model and interaction networks based on land users' mental models. 

Research interests

I work on the Valuing Nature Programme's Peatland Tipping Points project (https://www.peatlandtippingpoints.com/) which includes simulating the impact of land use on peat accumulation, and coupling these impacts to economic valuations of peatland condition. I have worked on the DigiBog peatland development model, creating a new 2D/3D version of the model with plant functional types, dyamically updated water tables, and submodels for land use. I also worked on the development of PeatDataHub (https://peatdatahub.net/), a web-hosted database for global peatland measurements, and have recently completed a digital soil mapping project on the use of a geostatistical model to improve the prediction peat depth in blanket peatlands.

Qualifications

• PhD Managing complex systems: an interdisciplinary approach to modelling peatland land use
• MSc in Land Management (ecological restoration)
• MBA

Research groups and institutes

• Sustainability Research Institute