Dr Will Simonson
"I focus on agroforests and their management for people and nature in a context of changing climate and the multiple demands and pressures on land"
Job title:
Principal Researcher, Agroforestry
Academic qualifications:
- BA (Hons) Natural Sciences (Botany Part II): University of Cambridge
- MSc Environmental Technology: Imperial College London
- PhD Forest ecology and conservation: University of Cambridge
Role and responsibilities:
I am Principal Researcher in Agroforestry at ORC and coordinate our research and development work on farming with trees.
I sit on the committee for the Farm Woodland Forum
Research projects
Research interests:
In my career I have applied field-based, remote sensing and landscape-level approaches to the areas of climate change adaptation in agro-ecosystems, forest ecology, and biodiversity conservation. These strands come together in my current focus on agroforestry systems, an interest which began during from my 12 years in Portugal studying its rich wood pastures and orchards.
In all approaches to organic and agro-ecological farming, I’m committed to seeing science making an impact on the ground, through partnerships with farmers, policy-makers and other stakeholders.
Interests outside of ORC:
I love being in the great outdoors as much as I can, whether cycling, walking, running, or just enjoying nature – it’s my relaxation and inspiration.
Cambridge has been our home city for the last 15 years, a stimulating mix of tradition and innovation. I keep in touch in various ways with the work of A Rocha, whose Christian motivation I share and explore in reading, writing and speaking
Publications:
- Simonson W, & Tosh C (2023) Agroforestry ELM Test Final Report. Organic Research Centre, 25 pp.
- Thomas C. … Simonson, W., Tosh, C. … and co-authors (2023) Investigating the feasibility for an Agroforestry Carbon Code – Final Report and recommendations. Report to NEIRF, Phase 2, 46 pp.
- Simonson W, Tosh C, Wolfe D, Verstand D, Houben S, Selin Norén I. & Allen M. (2022). Framework for building climate change resilience into landscape restoration through agroforestry: an England case study. 6th European Agroforestry Conference, Nuoro, Italy, May 2022.
- Burgess P, Simonson W. & Allen M (2022) Methodological approaches to assess climate resilience. Deliverable 3.7.1. AGROMIX.
- Simonson W, Miller E, Jones A, García-Rangela S, Thornton H & McOwen C (2021) Enhancing climate change resilience of ecological restoration – A framework for action. Perspectives in Ecology & Conservation 19: 300-310.
- Brock RC, Arnell A, Simonson W, Soterroni AC, Mosnier A, Ramos F, Xavier A, de Carvalho Y, Camara G, Pirker J, Obersteiner M & Kapos V (2021) Implementing Brazil’s Forest Code: a vital contribution to securing forests and conserving biodiversity. Biodiversity & Conservation, 30: 1621–1635.
- Holenstein K, Simonson W, Smith KG, Blackburn TM & Charpentier A. (2021) Non-native Species Surrounding Protected Areas Influence the Community of Non-native Species Within Them. Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution, doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.625137.
- Valbuena R, O’Connor B, Zellweger F, Simonson W, Vihervaara P, Maltamo M, Silva CA, Almeida DRA, Danks F, Morsdorf F, Chirici G, Lucas R, Coomes DA & Coops NC (2020). Standardizing Ecosystem Morphological Traits from 3D Information Sources. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 35(8): 656-667.
- Green EJ, McRae L, Freeman R, Harfoot MBJ, Hill SLL, Baldwin-Cantello W & Simonson WD (2020) Below the canopy: global trends in forest vertebrate populations and their drivers. Proceedings Royal Society B, 287: 20200533.
- Simonson W, Allen HD, Coomes DA (2018) Effect of Tree Phenology on LiDAR Measurement of Mediterranean Forest Structure. Remote Sensing, 10(5): 659
- Allen HD, Simonson W, Parham E, Santos E, & Hotham P (2018) Satellite remote sensing of land cover change in a mixed agro-silvo-pastoral landscape in the Alentejo, Portugal. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 39(4): 4663–4683.
- Simonson WD, Allen HD, Parham E, de Basto e Santos E & Hotham P (2018) Modelling biodiversity trends in the montado (wood pasture) landscapes of the Alentejo, Portugal. Landscape Ecology 33: 811–827.-
- Simonson WD, Ruiz Benito P & Coomes D (2015) Monitoring above-ground carbon dynamics using multi-temporal airborne lidar: proof of principle from a Mediterranean woodland. Biogeosciences 12(17): 14739-14772.
- De Frenne P, Coomes DA, Simonson WD, Verheyen K (2014). Plant movements and climate warming: intraspecific variation in growth responses to nonlocal soils. New Phytologist, 202: 431–441.
- Coomes DA, Burslem DFRP & Simonson WD (ed.s) (2014) Forests and Global Change. Ecological Reviews, Cambridge University Press, 473 pp.
- Valladares F, Benavides R, Rabasa SG, Pausas JG, Paula S, Simonson WD & Díaz M (2014) Global change and Mediterranean forests: current impacts and potential responses. In: Coomes et al. (ed.s) Forests and Global Change.
- Simonson WD, Allen HD & Coomes DA (2014) Applications of airborne lidar for biodiversity assessment. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 5(8): 719–729.
- Simonson WD, Allen HD & Coomes DA (2014) Overstorey and topographic effects on understories: evidence for linkage from cork oak (Quercus suber) forests in southern Spain. Forest Ecology and Management, 328: 35–44.
- Simonson WD & Allen HD (2014) Cork oak (Quercus suber) forests of western Mediterranean mountains: a plant community comparison. Ecologia Mediterranea, 40(1): 35–
- Simonson WD, Allen HD & Coomes DA (2013) Remotely sensed indicators of forest conservation status: Case study from a Natura 2000 site in southern Portugal. Ecological Indicators, 24: 636–647.
- Simonson WD, Allen HD & Coomes DA (2012) Use of an Airborne Lidar System to Model Plant Species Composition and Diversity of Mediterranean Oak Forests. Conservation Biology, 26(5): 840–850.