Prof Robin Pakeman

Robin is a researcher at the Macaulay Institute working on the regeneration dynamics of grassland, seedbank ecology, management and restoration of heathlands, bracken ecology and control, ecology of montane willows, interactions between the management of upland grasslands and bird populations, control of vegetation patterns by allelochemicals, controls of ecosystem processes by vegetation.

Research Interests

Focussed around understanding how vegetation is a driver of ecosystem processes and how plants regenerate by seed. Projects include the role of allelochemicals in structuring plant assemblages, the interactions between grazing and upland bird populations and the use of Plant Functional Traits to understand ecosystem function. Research also spans experimental investigations into the role large mammals play as seed dispersal agents, controls on the regeneration of montane willow species and the role of the seedbank in regeneration dynamics.

Robin's most recent publications

• The impacts of pollination, plant characteristics and local density on the reproductive success of a scarce plant species, Salix arbuscula., Shaw, R.A.; Elston, D.A.; Pakeman, R.J.; Young, M.R.; Iason, G.R., (In press) Plant Ecology.

• Regeneration of Salix arbuscula and Salix lapponum within a large mammal exclosure: the impacts of microsite and herbivory., Shaw, R.F.; Iason, G.R.; Pakeman, R.J.; Young, M.R., (In press) Restoration Ecology.

• RERAD Research Programme 3: Delivering Knowledge for Scotland's Biodiversity., Brooker, R.W.; Albon, S.; Hester, A.; Pakeman, R.P., (2010) Presentation to Scottish Biodiversity Committee, 9th March 2010.

• Endozoochory. How common is it in grasslands and does it matter?, Pakeman, R.J., (2010) International Symposium on Evolutionary Ecology of Seed Dispersal by Large Animals, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, 3rd February 2010.

• The machair: biodiversity and agricultural change., Pakeman, R.J., (2010) Scottish Biodiversity Forum Science Group Annual Conference, International Year of Biodiversity and the 2010 Targets: Achievements and Challenges Ahead, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 5th March 2010.

• A functional assessment of the response of grassland vegetation to reduced grazing and abandonment., Pakeman, R.J.; Marriott, C.A., (2010) Journal of Vegetation Science.

• Nesting preferences of the threatened wood ant Formica exsecta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): implications for conservation in Scotland., Stockan, J.A.; Rao, S.; Pakeman, R., (2010) Journal of Insect Conservation, 14, 269-276.

• Review of muirburn impacts on soil carbon and biodiversity., Towers, W.; Hester, A.; Pakeman, R.; Artz, R.; Chapman, S.; Littlewood, L.; Legg, C., (2010) Invited presentation to the Scottish LFA Stakeholder Group.

• Local adaptation to serpentine soils in Arabidopsis lyrata., Bourne, E.; Pakeman, R.; Brooker, R.; Kunin, B.; Travis, J., (2009) British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, University of Hertfordshire, 9th September 2009.

• Leaf traits capture the effects of land use changes and climate on litter decomposability of grasslands across Europe., Fortunel, C.; Garnier, E.; Joffre, R.; Kazakou, E.; Quested, H.; Grigulis, K.; Lavorel, S.; Ansquer, P.; Castro, H.; Cruz, P.; Dolezal, J.; Eriksson, .; Freitas, H.; Golodets, C.; Jouany, C.; Kigel, J.; Kleyer, M.; Lehsten, V.; Leps, J.; Meier, T.; Pakeman, R.J.; Papadimitriou, M.; Papanstasis, V.; Quetier, F.; Robson, T.; Sternberg, M.; Theau, J-P.; Thebault, A.; Zarovali, M., (2009) Ecology, 90, 598-611.