Books, Papers, and Reports

Recent Publications

Cover of Shakespeare on the Ecological Surface

Shakespeare on the Ecological Surface - Professor Liz Oakley-Brown

Shakespeare on the Ecological Surface uses the concept of the ‘surface’ to examine the relationship between contemporary performance and ecocriticism. Each section looks, in turn, at the 'surfaces' of slick, smoke, sky, steam, soil, slime, snail, silk, skin and stage to build connections between ecocriticism, activism, critical theory, Shakespeare and performance.

While the word ‘surface’ was never used in Shakespeare’s works, Liz Oakley-Brown shows how thinking about Shakespearean surfaces helps readers explore the politics of Elizabethan and Jacobean culture. She also draws surprising parallels with our current political and ecological concerns. The book explores how Shakespeare uses ecological surfaces to help understand other types of surfaces in his plays and poems: characters’ public-facing selves; contact zones between characters and the natural world; surfaces upon which words are written; and physical surfaces upon which plays are staged.

This book will be an illuminating read for anyone studying Shakespeare, early modern culture, ecocriticism, performance and activism.

The Ecology of Soil cover

The Ecology of Soil: From communities to ecosystems - Professor Richard Bardgett

Soil organisms are largely out of sight and mind. Yet, soil is home to a staggering 59% of all species on Earth; species that act as major drivers of the structure and functioning of our vital terrestrial ecosystems. Our understanding of this hidden diversity still lags on what is known about biodiversity above-ground, and it is largely ignored by international biodiversity conventions. But interest in soil biodiversity is booming, reflecting a growing awareness of the importance of soil life for the health of natural and managed ecosystems, and of the many services soil biodiversity provides for a healthy planet.

The Ecology of Soil explores what is known about the diversity of life in soil, how it is distributed in space and time, and how interactions between soil organisms, plants, and their consumers shape terrestrial ecosystems. It also provides an assessment of how soil biodiversity and its many functional roles are modified by global change, especially land use and climate change, and how soil ecology knowledge can be harnessed to address sustainability challenges of sustainable agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

By drawing on a rich diversity of soil ecology knowledge from ecosystems of the world, and from the foundational to the new, this fascinating book provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the ecology of soil and its importance for a healthy planet. Detailed and accessible, The Ecology of Soil is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students, and will inspire any reader to delve deeper into the ecology of soil.

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