Dr Charlotte Hall

My research explores the overarching question: How can we provide sufficient and nutritious food for the global population whilst remaining within planetary boundaries? I am particularly interested in the linkages between food production and land use change, and the potential of nature-based solutions for meeting both food security and environmental goals.

Biography: I completed a NERC-funded PhD at the University of Dundee which investigated the impacts of climate change on food production in sub-Saharan Africa, and whether changes to people’s dietary patterns could mitigate these impacts. Following this, I worked as a research assistant at the University of Aberdeen on a project examining the challenges faced by national-level decision makers in sourcing environmental impact data on strategies to address zero hunger. From 2020-2023, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher on an ERC-funded project known as FORESTDIET at the University of Copenhagen, investigating the linkages between land use change and food security in low- and middle-income countries.

Publications:

den Braber, B., Hall, C., Brandt, M., Reiner, F., Mugabowindekwe, M., & Rasmussen, L. V. (2024). Even low levels of tree cover improve dietary quality in West Africa. PNAS Nexus, pgae067.

Hall, C., Vansant, E. C., den Braber, B., Olesen, R. S., & Rasmussen. L. V. (forthcoming) Forestry, In: P. Carmody and J.T. Murphy (eds), The Handbook of African Economic Development. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Rasmussen, L. V., den Braber, B., Hall, C. M., Rhemtulla, J. M., Fagan, M. E., & Sunderland, T. (2023). Forest regrowth improves people’s dietary quality in Nigeria. npj Sustainable Agriculture, 1(1), 3.

Hall, C., den Braber, B., Vansant, E., Oldekop, J., Fielding, D., Das, U., Kamoto, J., & Rasmussen, L. V. (under review). Having trees on farms improves dietary quality in rural Malawi. Conservation Letters

Hall, C., Rasmussen, L. V., Powell, B., Dyngeland, C., Jung, S., & Olesen, R. S. (2022). Deforestation reduces fruit and vegetable consumption in rural Tanzania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(10), e2112063119.

Olesen, R. S., Hall, C., & Rasmussen, L. V. (2022). Forests support people’s food and nutrition security through multiple pathways in low-and middle-income countries. One Earth, 5(12), 1342-1353.

Rasmussen, L. V., Hall, C., Vansant, E. C., den Braber, B., & Olesen, R. S. (2021). Rethinking the approach of a global shift toward plant-based diets. One Earth, 4(9), 1201-1204.

Hall, C., Macdiarmid, J. I., Smith, P., & Dawson, T. P. (2021). The impact of climate and societal change on food and nutrition security: A case study of Malawi. Food and Energy Security, 10(3), e290.

Hall, C., Macdiarmid, J. I., Matthews, R. B., Smith, P., Hubbard, S. F., & Dawson, T. P. (2019). The relationship between forest cover and diet quality: a case study of rural southern Malawi. Food Security, 11(3), 635-650.

Hall, C., Dawson, T. P., Macdiarmid, J. I., Matthews, R. B., & Smith, P. (2017). The impact of population growth and climate change on food security in Africa: looking ahead to 2050. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 15(2), 124-135.