I’m a forest ecologist with a background in conservation, having worked across a range of projects both in the UK and abroad.
I have previously worked as an intelligence analyst in the UK and as a bio-security ranger for the Department of Conservation (DOC) in New Zealand. More recently I returned to the UK and my conservation career led me to an island nature reserve off the north coast of Scotland (Handa Island), which I ran for two years. I then spent a brief period working in the forest industry having completed my MSc in Environmental Forestry at Bangor University, Wales.
I'm currently undertaking my PhD at Stirling University in collaboration with Forest Research and have a particular interest in applied research, forest stand dynamics and complex adaptive systems. My research focuses on the resilience of forests to extreme climatic events such as drought, and how different species and communities respond to stressful events and why. By understanding the legacy and impact of historic drought events using tree ring chronologies we hope to identify ways in which we can foster and incorporate resilience and adaptive capacity into our forests to enable them to continue to meet the needs of people and wildlife in the face of climatic change.
My interests are wide-ranging and encompass anything botanical but especially relating to the ecology of forest ecosystems, both temperate and tropical. I have a particular interest and focus on managing forests as complex adaptive systems, forest dynamics and resilience to extreme climatic events. I also have a healthy fascination with mycology, the use of individual based modelling and more broadly, reintroduction biology.
Article
Intimate mixtures of Scots pine and Sitka spruce do not increase resilience to spring drought
Ovenden TS, Perks MP, Forrester DI, Mencuccini M, Rhoades J, Thompson DL, Stokes VJ & Jump AS (2022) Intimate mixtures of Scots pine and Sitka spruce do not increase resilience to spring drought. Forest Ecology and Management, 521, Art. No.: 120448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120448
Article
Buras A, Ovenden T, Rammig A & Zang CS (2022) Refining the standardized growth change method for pointer year detection: Accounting for statistical bias and estimating the deflection period. Dendrochronologia, 74, Art. No.: 125964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2022.125964
Article
Threshold response to extreme drought shifts inter-tree growth dominance in Pinus sylvestris
Ovenden T, Perks M, Clarke T, Mencuccini M & Jump A (2021) Threshold response to extreme drought shifts inter-tree growth dominance in Pinus sylvestris. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 4, Art. No.: 737342. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.737342
Article
Ovenden T, Perks MP, Clarke T, Mencuccini M & Jump AS (2021) Life After Recovery: Increased Resolution Of Forest Resilience Assessment Sheds New Light On Post-drought Compensatory Growth And Recovery Dynamics. Journal of Ecology, 109 (9), pp. 3157-3170. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13576
Newspaper Article
Plastic found lining UK seabird nests on a worrying scale
Ovenden T (2020) Plastic found lining UK seabird nests on a worrying scale. The Conversation. 28.07.2020.
Article
Thompson DL, Ovenden TS, Pennycott T & Nager RG (2020) The prevalence and source of plastic incorporated into nests of five seabird species on a small offshore island. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 154, Art. No.: 111076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111076
Newspaper Article
Ovenden T (2019) Climate change: having the right combination of tree 'personalities' could make forests more resilient. The Conversation. 10.07.2019.
Article
Ovenden TS, Palmer SCF, Travis JMJ & Healey JR (2019) Improving reintroduction success in large carnivores through individual-based modelling: How to reintroduce Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) to Scotland. Biological Conservation, 234, pp. 140-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.03.035
Policy Document
Ovenden T (2019) The Potential For Lynx Reintroduction To Scotland: Innovative Modelling Provides Robust Scientific Evidence To Inform Decision Making. University of Stirling. Stirling. https://www.stir.ac.uk/research/public-policy-hub/policy-briefings/
Newspaper Article
Ovenden T (2019) Eurasian lynx: how our computer model highlighted the best site for restoring this wild cat to Scotland. The Conversation. 03.04.2019.
