Dr Lydia Cole

Dr Lydia Cole

Lecturer

Phone
+44 (0)1334 46 1788
Email
lesc1@st-andrews.ac.uk

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Research areas

I am a conservation ecologist with a keen interest in how tropical ecosystems can be managed sustainably in the face of agricultural expansion and the other pervasive impacts of globalisation. I am particularly interested in peat-scapes, and how they can be听responsibly managed through an understanding of their unique hydrological requirements. Past projects of mine, involving time in both academia and industry, have included: creating a mapping and monitoring system for peatlands in the UK, Malaysia and Indonesia; reconstructing past vegetation change and assessing future prospects for the coastal peatlands of Malaysian Borneo; exploring the dynamics of human-wildlife interaction in northeast India; and training Government, research and NGO partners in Ghana, Indonesia and Malaysia on the use of a decision support tool for restoring connectivity in landscapes for biodiversity under climate change.

I'm currently working on a range of research projects with various (fantastic!) interdisciplinary teams, which have a unifying focus on exploring human-environment interactions at different scales, e.g.:

  • An exploration of the local value of intact tropical peatlands in the lowland Peruvian Amazon, led by Dr Katy Roucoux (Geography & SD)
  • An examination of local perceptions of peatland restoration in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, co-led with Dr Cornelia Helmcke (Geography & SD)
  • An interdisciplinary exploration of the value and parameters of volumetric literacy for natural resource and environmental management, led by Dr Ariadne Collins (International Relations) and Dr Theo Reeves-Evison (Birmingham School of Art)
  • A project to explore the role of Rwanda's peatlands in national food and energy production (Brian Kipruto (PhD student), Ian Lawson, Greta Dargie, Samer Elshehawi, Greifswald Mire Centre)听
  • A project exploring recovery pathways, and approaches to monitor them, in Scottish peatlands (Joe O'Sullivan (PhD student), Iain Matthews, Richard Streeter, Bert Scholtens, Charlie Davis, Corrour)

In my teaching, I explore the following themes:

  • Environmental management, introducing students to topics including ecological science, social-ecological systems approaches, local ecological knowledge, multistakeholder engagement, ecological literacy
  • Environmental Geography
  • Interdisciplinary approaches
  • Sustainable development in relation to environment
  • Research methods (including field data collection & working with secondary data) in Physical and Environmental Geography
  • Data literacy for social and environmental justice (new digital Masters course, to go live in January 2024)

In order to engage with the next, and multiple generation(s), with industry and with the wider scientific community, I am engaged in the following roles:

  • Deputy Chair of the听 of the British Ecological Society
  • Coordinator of the Expert Group: Peatlands and Biodiversity, within the Peatlands and Environment Commission of the听's Scientific Advisory Board
  • Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Young Academy of Scotland

PhD Projects

I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in pursuing research in the broad area of peatland ecology, use, and management, in different geographies, and on other topics related to my past/current work.

PhD supervision

  • Brian听Kipruto
  • Chau Cong Anh听Nguyen
  • Joe听O'Sullivan

Selected publications

  • Open access
    Helmcke, C., Hooker, S., Roney-Dougal, C., Skrzypek, E., Reid, L., Wishart, L. J., Russell, S., High, M., Lawson, I., Cole, L., Hope, J., Sfrappini, E., Christie, E., Paul, F., Mallows, C., Auxtova, K., Twist, B. & Gregnanin, G., Mar 2026, 5 p. Online : Scottish Government.

    Research output: Other contribution

  • Open access
    Helmcke, C., Christie, E., Twist, B., Mallows, C., Roney-Dougal, C., Sfrappini, E., Skrzypek, E., Paul, F., Gregnanin, G., Joubert, G., Lawson, I., Hope, J., Auxtova, K., Reid, L., Wishart, L. J., Cole, L. E. S., High, M., Conlan, P. J., Hooker, S. & Russell, S., 27 Mar 2026, Online: University of St 糖心logo. 11 p.

    Research output: Book/Report 鈥� Commissioned report

  • Open access
    Helmcke, C., Cole, L. E. S. & MacMillan, J., 17 Apr 2026

    Research output: Non-textual form 鈥� Digital or Visual Products

  • Open access
    Milner, A. M., McKeown, M. M., Ruwaimana, M., Gallego-Sala, A., Loisel, J., Menges, J., Roland, T. P., Ahiable, C. A. E., Akwany, L. O., Alarcon-Prado, P., Anshari, G., Alappat, L., Baird, A. J., B膮k, M., Bambuta Boole, J. J., Batten, S. E., Beaudoin, Y., Bechtold, M., Bu, Z.-J. & Budisusanti, S. P. M. & 85 others, Benavides, J. C., Chawchai, S., Chimner, R. A., Cobb, A. R., Cole, L. E. S., Connolly, J., Calvo Vargas, J. C., Courtney-Mustaphi, C. J., Davidson, S. J., de la Pe帽a, A., Duley, E., Elshehawi, S., Espinoza Le贸n, I., Finkelstein, S. A., Garneau, M., Girkin, N. T., Glen, E., Grover, S., Grundling, P.-L., Handley, J. N., Helfter, C., Hergoualc鈥檋, K., Hoyt, A. M., Huang, X., Imani, G., James, A., Kabonyi Nzabandora, C., Kagaba Kairumba, C., Kansiime, F., Kolka, R. K., Koren, G., Korhola, A., Krisnawati, H., Kumar, R., Lamentowicz, M., L氓ng, K., Larmola, T., Lewis, S. L., Lopez, O. R., L贸pez-Blanco, E., Lupascu, M., Maldonado-Fonken, M., Marchant, R., Marcisz, K., Mazei, N. G., Mazei, Y. A., Mbasi, M., Melling, L., Miles, L., Montanarella, L., Moss, P. T., Murg铆a-Flores, F., NGuyen, M.-K., Novita, N., Oliver, D. J. S., Orijemie, E. A., Osaki, M., Page, S. E., Pancost, R. D., Pandey, S., P眉schel Hoeneisen, N., Quintana Zagaceta, C. H., Ratnayake, A. S., Reed, M. S., Rochefort, L., Saavedra, B., Samuel, J., Scheel, P., Schutten, H., Siegert, F., Signori-M眉ller, C., Strack, M., Stolle, F., Swindles, G. T., Tanneberger, F., Turetsky, M. R., Urciuolo, A. B., V盲liranta, M., Verstraeten, G., Warren, M., Webster, K. L., Whinam, J., Young, D. M., Yu, Z. & Zhang, H., 28 Apr 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Communications Earth & Environment. 7, p. 1-11 349.

    Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

  • Open access
    Helmcke, C., Hooker, S., Roney-Dougal, C., Skrzypek, E., Reid, L., Wishart, L. J., Russell, S., High, M., Lawson, I., Cole, L. E. S., Hope, J., Sfrappini, E., Christie, E., Paul, F., Auxtova , K., Gregnanin, G., Twist, B. & Mallows, C., Mar 2026, 8 p. Online : Scottish Government.

    Research output: Other contribution

  • Open access
    Christie, E., Helmcke, C., Twist, B., Mallows, C., Roney-Dougal, C., Sfrappini, E., Skrzypek, E., Paul, F., Gregnanin, G., Joubert, G., Lawson, I., Hope, J., Auxtova, K., Reid, L., Wishart, L., Cole, L., High, M., Conlan, P., Hooker, S. & Russell, S., 13 Aug 2026, Online: Scottish Council on Global Affairs. (State of the world)

    Research output: Book/Report 鈥� Commissioned report

  • Open access
    Wang, Y., Feldpausch, T. R., Swindles, G. T., Moss, P., McGowan, H. A., Sim, T. G., Morris, P. J., Benfield, A., Courtney鈥怣ustaphi, C., Wahl, D., Montoya, E., Githumbi, E., Honorio Coronado, E. N., Augustijns, F., Verstraeten, G., (Roe), J. O. D., Tibby, J., Benavides, J. C., Hapsari, K. A. & Schittek, K. & 26 others, Ramdzan, K. N. M., Bao, K., Cole, L. E. S., Anderson, L., Ga艂ka, M., Akpo, O. E., Strobel, P., Bala, P. R., Dommain, R., Marchant, R., Sukumar, R., Chawchai, S., Kavil, S. P., Mooney, S., Kelly, T. J., Gao, Y., Voulgarakis, A., Boom, A., Burton, C., Berrio, J. C., Ribeiro, K., Anderson, L. O., Hardiman, M., Spater, M., Page, S. E. & Gallego鈥怱ala, A. V., 17 Mar 2026, In: Global Change Biology. 32, 3, 16 p., e70717.

    Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

  • Open access
    Collins, Y. A., Reeves-Evison, T., Barlow, M. & Cole, L. E. S., 17 Mar 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. Online First, p. 1-23 23 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

  • Open access
    Helmcke, C., Jenkins, E. & Cole, L. E. S., 20 Mar 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Scottish Geographical Journal. Latest Articles, 42 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

  • Open access
    Wheeler, C. E., Davies, A. L., Andueza, L., Cole, L. E. S., D谩vila, N., Del 脕guila, J., del Aguila Villacorta, M., Draper, F. C., Evans, C. L. D., Honorio Coronado, E. N., Laurie, N., Loja, E., Bra帽as, M. M., Mitchard, E. T. A. & Roucoux, K. H., 1 Sept 2025, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 391, 11 p., 126198.

    Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

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