About our biological and environmental sciences research

Our carbon cycling research in the Arctic, including the Permafrost Carbon Feedback is directly contributing to UK and international policy.

We lead an ambitious research program on developing new biocontrol systems using an evolutionary approach for fighting serious agricultural global pests.

We conduct leading-edge research to understand the public health risks and environmental impacts of plastics in developing African countries, as well as parallel independent projects on this topic in SE Asia.

We study how renewable energy hydropower projects and dam construction impact biodiversity, local ecosystems and local people’s livelihoods.

We have a strong tradition in studies of ecological restoration, including woodlands and freshwater habitats, that use natural experiments and species reintroductions to assess biodiversity responses to restoration efforts.

In the African tropics, we have partnered with the Gabonese government for the past four decades to co-produce the longest continuous datasets in the region on rainforest function, carbon sequestration and responses to climate change.

We study how bee pollinators have co-evolved with flowering plants and the response of natural and agricultural systems to changes in the availability of specialised pollinators.

We are developing environmental management tools such as quantitative PCR detection of Escherichia coli in contaminated farmland soils.

Our research is underpinning science-based policy on peatland restoration and forest management for soil carbon sequestration with the Forestry Commission.

In collaboration with Stirling colleagues in History and Education and supported by the Strathmartine Trust, ESRC, Royal Society and Scottish Wildlife Trust, our work with schools in remote or in attainment-challenged locations is widely recognised as exemplary. We translate and test citizen science approaches to learning into the school curriculum.

We have excellent inter-disciplinary research collaborations where we integrate our environmental science with social sciences, humanities, and engineering.

We are developing new approaches and tools to resolve conflicts and trade-offs between biodiversity and food security.

We work with Institute of Aquaculture colleagues to improve sustainable management of shellfish fisheries in the face of threats from both ocean acidification and marine invasive species.