Cathy Hawes

Biography

Cathy Hawes is Research Scientist at Scottish Crop Research Institute

Research Interest

Cathy Hawes current research focuses on developing functional approaches for assessing the plant and invertebrate biodiversity of arable ecosystems. Arable weeds, including many of the rare species, are increasingly seen as an important source of biological diversity, and are crucial to the functioning of arable systems. The severe depletion of arable biodiversity through agricultural intensification has important implications for system function. My research includes the development and application of monitoring protocols for characterising arable seedbank, plant and invertebrate communities. These are used to assess the impact of changes in arable management and cropping patterns on functional diversity which is essential for sustainable crop production.