Our Team

Centre Co-Directors

Professor Richard Bardgett

Professor Richard Bardgett, CBE

My research focuses on understanding how soils and their biodiversity shape terrestrial ecosystems and their response to climate change. I work on many ecosystems across the world, but mostly focus on alpine and temperate grasslands, and on how soil ecology can inform sustainability challenges related to ecosystem restoration, climate mitigation and adaptation. I am also strongly committed to raising awareness of the importance of soil biodiversity, and to this end, was a co-founder of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI), which was formed in 2011 to create a global platform for promoting the translation of expert knowledge on soil biodiversity into policy.

Professor Jess Davies

Professor Jess Davies

Originally trained as an engineer, I have developed a career as an interdisciplinary soils researcher, focused on science, innovation, and collaboration that delivers soil sustainability. My research centres on soil carbon and nutrient cycling, developing models and data-driven approaches to understand, anticipate and manage the impacts of land use, management, and climate change. I work with a broad range of people across sectors to explore how we can put soil sustainability into practice. I led the formation of a global soil health working group with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and co-founded the Soils in Planning and Construction Task Force, a cross-sector initiative promoting the integration of soil sustainability into planning policy and development.

Leadership Team

Professor David Johnson

Professor David Johnson

I joined Lancaster University in January 2025 to help establish the Centre for Sustainable Soils. My main interests concern plant-soil and multi-trophic interactions, and the ecology of mycorrhizal fungi that form symbiotic associations with most of the world’s plants. These interests have enabled me to work in several biomes, including tropical and sub-tropic forests, arctic heathlands, croplands and grasslands, and more recently, urban systems. My work usually involves manipulations in both field and laboratory, and often I use isotope tracers to quantify the movement of resources through ecosystems.

Professor Jeanette Whitaker

Professor Jeanette Whitaker

I am the Associate Science Director in Land-Atmosphere Interactions at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and I currently lead 120 scientists delivering research across air quality, climate change impacts, climate mitigation and sustainable agriculture. As a soil biogeochemist, my research focuses on the impacts of climate change and land use on soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions; the sustainability of biomass crops; and the co-benefits and trade-offs of greenhouse gas removals technologies such as biochar. I work extensively with UK policymakers, industry and NGO’s, informing the expansion of sustainable biomass production in the UK.

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