Amelia Hood

Research-intensive Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Land Management, University of Reading

I am a social-ecological researcher who is interested in developing farming systems that are resilient to climate change and work well for farmers. Biodiversity and soil health are at the heart of this, and I am particularly interested in silvoarable agroforestry as it can provide ecological and production impacts in tandem. I often engage with stakeholders, such as farmers, when designing experiments or projects, as this creates innovative solutions that are grounded in reality. I use manipulative ecological experiments, such as climate experiments or invertebrate exclusions, to test new managements. Taxonomically I have a soft spot for earthworms, but who doesn't really.
My current research focuses on agroforestry systems in the UK, and you can see more on my website: https://www.trees-in-fields-network.co.uk/. I have worked in several other systems too, including oil palm agriculture, cassava agriculture, and tropical rainforests. My wider interests include evidence-based conservation, evidence synthesis, and open data.