An Illustrated Guide to British Upland Vegetation

Author Biography

Alison Averis has worked mainly on upland and montane vegetation since the 1980s, when she was a member of the Nature Conservancy Council Upland Vegetation Survey team. Her PhD was a study of the ecology of a community of oceanic liverworts in upland heaths in western Britain. She has also studied vegetation in Ireland, Norway and the Faroe Islands. Ben Averis worked for some years on woodland vegetation and bryophyte (moss & liverwort) surveys, but since 1990 has worked in a very wide range of upland and lowland habitats in Britain. His MPhil was a study of bryophyte flora and ecology in over 400 woods in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. He has also studied vegetation in Ireland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, France and Japan. Professor John Birks is an internationally acclaimed scientist, who has published more than 20 books and 400 papers, John is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen. His research achievements are in the field of Quaternary science and environmental history. This includes quaternary palaeoecology, linking pollen analysis and vegetation history with modern ecology; and in quantitative palaeoecology, using numerical methods to analyse numerical palaeoecological data. In receipt of prestigious medals for his research from four countries, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award and Medal from the International Paleolimnology Association, John has editorial roles for nine scientific journals, and had a special issue of The Holocene dedicated to his lifetime work - entitled ‘At the frontiers of palaeoecology’. A Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, John is a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh   Professor Des Thompson is Principal Adviser on Science and Biodiversity with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Des works closely with government, and leads on key policy and science matters relating to nature. Chairman of the Technical Advisory Group advising the UN Convention on Migratory Species on the conservation of migratory birds of prey in Eurasia and Africa, Des has specialist interests in birds and the uplands, and has published 15 books and more than 200 papers. An Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Ecology, Chairman of the Field Studies Council (the UK’s leading provider of outdoor environmental education), he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.  Marcus Yeo is CEO of the JNCC, having been Head of Planning and Resources and Head of Habitat Advice. He spent nine years with the Countryside Council for Wales, first as a Vegetation Surveyor, before becoming their Upland Ecologist from 1993 to 1999. He has a personal interest in nature conservation, in particular bryophytes, being an active member of the British Bryological Society.