Dr Simon Mortimer
Associate Professor
School of Agriculture, Policy and Development
University of Reading
United Kingdom
Biography
Dr. Simon Mortimer is currently working as a Associate Professor in the Department of School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading , United Kingdom. Responsibilities: • Director of Biodiversity, Crops and Agro-ecosystems Division • Assistant Director, Centre for Agri-Environmental Research • Programme Co-Director, MSc Environmental Management • Member, Chilterns Conservation Board (SoS Appointment) Current and Recent Research Projects: • Improving the effectiveness of grassland restoration and creation options: development of a methodology for setting indicators of success and assessing progress (DEFRA, 2010-2012) • Western Balkans Rural Extension Network through Curriculum Reform. TEMPUS project. (European Commission, 2010-2013). • Managing grassland diversity of multiple ecosystem services (DEFRA, 2010-2015) • Conflicting demands of land use, soil biodiversity and the sustainable delivery of ecosystem goods and services in Europe (European Commission, 2008-2012) • Improving the success of agri-environment initiatives: the role of farmer learning and landscape context (Rural Economy & Land Use Programme, ESRC/NERC/BBSRC 2006-2012) • The Agri-environmental Footprint: Development of a common generic methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of European Agri-environmental Schemes (European Commission, 2005-2008) • Diversification of grassland through the manipulation of plant-soil interactions and the identification of indicators of restorability (DEFRA, 2004-2012)
Research Interest
Plant community ecology, vegetation dynamics and succession, restoration ecology, habitat creation, colonisation of new sites by plants and their associated invertebrates Ecology and management of agricultural systems for biodiversity conservation, especially species-rich lowland grasslands Relationship between land management, biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services, farmers' understanding of sustainable agricultural practices Evaluation of interaction between agricultural and environmental policies, agri-environment schemes, farmer attitudes and decision making concerning agri-environmental policies
Publications
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Mortimer SR, Edwards AR, Lawson CS, Westbury DB, Woodcock BA, Brook AJ, Harris SJ, Brown VK. Efficacy of methods for using seed of local provenance to enhance grassland diversity. Aspects of Applied Biology. 2007(82):39-48.
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Mortimer SR, Park JR, Mauchline AL, Haysom KA, Westbury DB, Purvis G, Louwagie G, Northey G, Finn JA, Knickel K, Kasperczyk N. The Agri-Environmental Footprint Index: User’s Manual.
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Mortimer S, Mauchline A, Park J, Finn J, Edwards D, Morris J. Evaluation of Agriâ€Environment and Forestry Schemes with Multiple Objectives L’évaluation de programmes agroenvironnementaux et forestiers aux objectifs multiples Die Evaluation von Agrarumweltâ€und Forstwirtschaftsprogrammen mit multiplen Zielen. EuroChoices. 2010 Apr 1;9(1):48-54.
