Conservation Science Group

Department of Zoology

Dr Ruth Swetnam

rds40@cam.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1223 762979

I am a geographer and GIS specialist interested in the application of spatial modelling to environmental processes at a range of spatial and temporal scales (local, national and regional). In the past I have studied at the Universities of Sheffield (BSc), Edinburgh (MSc) and more recently at the University of Exeter (PhD). My research interests lie in the fields of landscape ecology, historical geography, land use change and environmental information and I am a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (http://www.rgs.org/HomePage.htm). Previous research in the field of land use change in Britain post 1930 was featured on the BBC Programme ‘ Britain from the Air’ in 2008. (See http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/buildingbritain/dudleystamp.shtml (2.30 min in) and http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/buildingbritain/agriculturalrevolution.shtml (2.25 min in) for links to video clips.

After short spells at the National Remote Sensing Centre and the British Antarctic Survey. I spent 14 years at the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrologywhere I built GIS databases to investigate ecological processes relevant to both fauna and flora. As a taster, these projects have included: the landscape impacts of climate change; the effects of fragmentation of woodlands on bird species; modelling the impact of game shooting on biodiversity; modelling the impact of set-aside on arable weeds and the spatial targeting of wet grassland restoration. I have joined the group here in Cambridge to work on the Leverhulme funded programme ‘ Valuing the Arc’ which is modelling ecosystem services in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania.

Publications

  • Swetnam, R. D. and Reyers, B. (in press) Meeting the challenge of conserving Africa's biodiversity: The role of GIS, now and in the future. Landscape and Urban Planning.
  • Swetnam, D. W., & Swetnam, R. D., (2010) Writing your Dissertation (3rd edition). How To Books, Oxford, UK. pp132.
  • Swetnam, R. D., Fisher, B., Mbilinyi, B. P., Munishi, P. K., Willcock, S., Ricketts, T., Mwakalila, S., Balmford, A., Burgess, N. D., Marshall, A. R., Lewis, S. L. (2010) Mapping socio-economic scenarios of land cover change: a GIS method to enable ecosystem service modelling. Journal of Environmental Management, 92 (3): 563-574.
  • Burgess, N. D., Bahane, B., Clairs, T., Danielsen, F., Dalsgaard, S., Funder, M., Hagelberg, N., Harrison, P., Haule, C., Kabalimu, K., Kilahama, F., Kilawer, E., Lewis, S. L., Lovett, J. C., Lyatuu, G., Marshall, A. R., Meshack, C., Miles, L.,m MIlledge, S. A. H., Munishi, P. K. T., Nashanda, E., Shirima, D., Swetnam, R. D., Willcock, S., Williams, A., Zahabu, E., (2010) Getting ready for REDD+ in Tanzania: a case study of progress and challenges. Oryx, 44(3): 339-351
  • Meeks, W. R., Burman, P. J., Nowakowski, M., Sparks, T. H., Hill, R. A., Swetnam, R. D., Burman, N. J., (2009). Habitat requirements of breeding Barn Owls (Tyto alba) in the south Midlands of England. Bird Study, iFirst: 1-12.

  • Whittingham, M. J., Krebs, J. R., Swetnam, R.D., Thewlis, R. M., Wilson, J. D., Freckleton, R. P., (2009) Habitat associations of British breeding farmland birds. Bird Study, 56: 43-52.
  • Swetnam, R. D. (2007) Stability mapping: a tool to understand rural land use change dynamics with examples from England and Wales, 1930- 1998. Landscape and Urban Planning, 81(1-2): 91-103.
  • Thomson, A. G., Manchester, S. J., Swetnam, R. D., Smith, G. M., Wadsworth, R. A., Gerard, F. F. (2007) . The use of digital aerial photography and CORINE-derived methodology for monitoring recent and historic changes in land cover near UK Natura 2000 sites for the BIOPRESS project. International Journal of Remote Sensing 28(23): 5397-5426.
  • Whittingham, M., Krebs, J., Swetnam, R. D., Vickery, J., Wilson, J. D., Freckleton, R. P., (2007) Should conservation strategies consider spatial generality? Farmland birds show regional not national patterns of habitat association. Ecology Letters, 10: 25-35.
  • Tindall, C. I., Moore, R. V, Bosley, J. D, Swetnam, R. D., Bowie, R. B., & De Rudder, A. (2006). Creating and using the URGENT metadata catalogue and thesaurus. Science of the Total Environment, 360: 223-232.
  • M.G. Culshaw, C.P. Nathanail, G.J.L. Leeks, S. Alker, D. Bridge, T. Duffy, D. Fowler, J.C. Packman, R. D. Swetnam, R. A. Wadsworth and B. K. Wyatt (2006) The role of web-based environmental information in urban planning – the environmental information system for planners. Science of the Total Environment, 360: 223-232.
  • Mountford, J. O., Roy, D. B., Cooper, J. M., Manchester, S. J., Swetnam, R. D., Warman, E. A., Treweek, J. R. (2006) Methods for targeting the restoration of grazing marsh and wet grassland communities at a national, regional and local scale. Journal of Nature Conservation, 14: 46-66.
  • Swetnam, R. D., Wilson, J. D., Whittingham, M. J., & Grice, P. V., (2005) Designing lowland landscapes for farmland birds: scenario testing with GIS. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 29: 275-296.
  • Whittingham, M. J., Swetnam R. D., Wilson, J. D., Chamberlain, D. E., & Freckleton, R. P. (2005) Habitat selection by yellowhammers Emberiza citronella on lowland farmland at two spatial scales: implications for conservation management. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42(2): 270-280.
  • Fuller, R. J., Hinsley, S. A., & Swetnam, R. D. (2004) The relevance of non-farmland habitats, uncropped areas and habitat diversity to the conservation of farmland birds. IBIS, 146(Supplement 2): 22-31.
  • Swetnam, R. D., Mountford, J. O., Manchester, S. J. M, & Broughton, R. (2004) Agri-environmental schemes: their role in reversing floral decline in the Brue floodplain, Somerset, UK. Journal of Environmental Management, 71: 79-93.
  • Bennett, A. F., Hinsley, S. A., Bellamy, P. E., Swetnam, R. D., & MacNally, R. (2004) Do regional gradients in land-use influence richness, composition and turnover of bird assemblages in small woods? Biological Conservation, 119: 191-206.
  • Swetnam, R. D., Tindall, C. I., Cook, J. M., Pepler, S. J., Shaw, R. P. S (2002) Collation, management and dissemination of environmental research relating to urban areas in the UK. The approach used with the Natural Environment Research Council;s URGENT Programme. Computers, Environment & Urban Systems, 26: 63-84.
  • Rehfisch, M.M., Austin, G.E., Clark, N.A., Holloway, S.J., Yates, M.G., le Vit Dit Durrell, S.E., Eastwood, J.A., Goss-Custard, J.D., Swetnam, R.D., West, J.R.,(2000) Predicting densities of wintering Redshank Tringa totanus from estuary characteristics: a method for assessing the likely impact of habitat change. Acta Ornithologica 35(1): 25-32.
  • Walker , K.J., Sparks, T.H., Swetnam, R.D., (2000) The colonisation of tree and shrub species within a self-sown woodland: the Monks Wood Wilderness. Aspects of Applied Biology 58 : 337-334.
  • Mountford, J. O., Roy, D. B., Cooper, J. M., Manchester, S. J., Swetnam, R. D., Warman, E. A. (2000) Targeting habitat restoration: methods and application to lowland wet grassland. Aspects of Applied Biology 58: 255- 262.
  • Swetnam, R.D, Firbank, L.G, Ellis, N.E & Hill, M.O (1998) A Geographic Information System for Predicting Weed Changes on Set-aside Arable Land. Weed Technology 12(1): 165-176.
  • Firbank, L.G., Ellis, N.E., Hill, M.O., Lockwood, A.J., & Swetnam, R. D. (1998) Mapping the distribution of weeds in Great Britain in relation to national survey distribution and to soil type. Weed Research 38: 1-10
  • Swetnam, R. D., Ragou, P. R., Firbank, L. G., Hinsley, S. A & Bellamy P. A (1998) Applying Ecological Models to Altered Landscapes: Scenario-testing with GIS. Landscape and Urban Planning. 41: 3-18.
  • Wadsworth , R. A & Swetnam, R. D (1998) Modelling the impact of climate warming at the landscape scale: will bench terraces become economically and ecologically viable structures under changed climates? Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 68: 27-39.
  • Brown, N.J., Swetnam, R.D, Treweek, J. R., Mountford, J.O., Caldow, R.W.G., Manchester, S. J., Stamp, T. R., Gowing, D. J. G., Soloman, D. R and Armstrong, A, C. (1998) Issues in GIS Development: adapting to research and policy needs for management of wet grasslands in an Environmentally Sensitive Area. International Journal of Geographic Information Science12(5): 465-478.
  • Swetnam, R. D, Mountford, J. O., Armstong, A. C., Gowing, D. J. G., Brown, N.J., Manchester, S. J. & Treweek, J. R, (1997) Spatial relationships between site hydrology and the occurrence of grassland of conservation importance: a risk assessment with GIS. Journal of Environmental Management 54: 189-203
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