Projects per year
Personal profile
SUMMARY of research interests (100 words)
My research investigates how ecosystems respond to change. I’m happiest when working in forests but I also make the occasional foray into grasslands. My main research focus lies in determining how interactions between above- and belowground processes affect ecosystem function. I currently work in the UK, Panama and Germany using a wide range of tools borrowed from biogeochemistry, plant-, soil, and microbial ecology. I'm also Senior Editor for Functional Ecology and I'm passionate about science communication and public engagement with science.
External positions
Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
2013 → …
Keywords
- Environmental change
- Ecology
- Tropical ecology
- Forest ecology
- Carbon dynamics
- Nutrient cycling
- science communication
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Refining Estimates of Tropical Forest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Exchange using Plant Traits (RETROGHG)
Sayer, E. (Principal Investigator) & Pangala, S. (Co-Investigator)
1/06/22 → 31/01/26
Project: Research
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Ecosystem carbon and nutrient dynamics under global change
Sayer, E. (Principal Investigator), Medina Barcenas, E. (PhD Student) & Edgerley, J. (Other)
1/04/14 → …
Project: Research
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A comparative assessment of foliar traits and P fractions to fertilization in two tropical forests: understanding plant acclimation to P-limitation
Sayer, E. (Principal Investigator)
2/01/20 → 30/03/23
Project: Research
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FACE underground: Can trees in mature forests gain greater access to soil nutrients
Sayer, E. (Principal Investigator)
15/10/19 → 31/10/23
Project: Research
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Intra- and interspecific leaf trait variation, decomposition processes and the ‘home-field advantage’ in European woodlands
Sayer, E. (Principal Investigator)
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
8/04/19 → 30/11/20
Project: Research
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A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities
van Galen, L. G., Smith, G. R., Margenot, A. J., Waldrop, M. P., Crowther, T. W., Peay, K. G., Jackson, R. B., Yu, K., Abrahão, A., Ahmed, T. A., Alatalo, J. M., Anslan, S., Anthony, M. A., Araujo, A. S. F., Ascher-Jenull, J., Bach, E. M., Bahram, M., Baker, C. C. M., Baldrian, P. & Bardgett, R. D. & 101 others, , 26/09/2025, In: Scientific Data. 12, 1, 1568.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Elevated CO 2 alters relative belowground carbon investment for nutrient acquisition in a mature temperate forest
Reay, M. K., Sayer, E. J., Smith, A., Pastor, V., Kourmouli, A., Marshall, M., Grzesik, R. T., Evans, I., Rumeau, M., Hart, K., Ma, J., Norby, R. J., MacKenzie, A. R., Hamilton, R. L., Hartley, I. P. & Ullah, S., 22/07/2025, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 122, 29, 9 p., e2503595122.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open Access -
Nutrient availability explains distinct soil fungal colonization of angiosperm versus gymnosperm wood
Zhao, Z., Hu, Z., Yang, T., Xu, Z., Bai, Z. & Sayer, E. J., 31/01/2025, In: Journal of Ecology. 113, 1, p. 232-248 17 p.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open AccessFile41 Downloads (Pure) -
Root exudate stoichiometry is a key driver of soil N cycling: implications for forest responses to global change
Rumeau, M., Pihlblad, J., Sgouridis, F., Fereday, G., Reay, M. K., Carrillo, Y., Hartley, I. P., Sayer, E., Hamilton, L., Mackenzie, A. R. & Ullah, S., 30/09/2025, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 208, 109856.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open AccessFile12 Downloads (Pure) -
Salutogenic Effects of Greenspace Exposure: An Integrated Biopsychological Perspective on Stress Regulation, Mental and Physical Health in the Urban Population
Varadarajan, S., Herchet, M., Mack, M., Hofmann, M., Bisle, E., Sayer, E. & Kolassa, I.-T., 31/01/2025, In: Open Psychology. 7, 1, 20240003.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Review article › peer-review
Open Access
Activities
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Make it happen! Project-based learning on developing an environmental technology of slurry processing to support local students from disadvantaged backgrounds and farming..
Moure Abelenda, A. (Speaker), Aiouache, F. (Supervisor), Roberts, J. (Supervisor) & Sayer, E. (Supervisor)
24/07/2023 → 28/07/2023Activity: Other activity types › Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
File -
Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts
Sayer, E. (Organiser)
22/06/2022 → 26/06/2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Festival/Exhibition/Concert
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Garden Organic (External organisation)
Sayer, E. (Member)
2021 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of board
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Science Futures
Sayer, E. (Speaker)
2021 → 2024Activity: Other activity types › Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
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British Ecological Society (External organisation)
Sayer, E. (Member)
2018 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of committee
Datasets
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Species co-occurrence shapes spatial variability in plant diversity–biomass relationships in natural rangelands under different grazing intensities
Sanaei, A. (Creator), J. Sayer, E. (Creator), Saiz, H. (Creator), Yuan, Z. (Creator) & Ali, A. (Creator), Dryad, 2021
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.x0k6djhjw, http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.x0k6djhjw
Dataset
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Deepened snow cover mitigates soil carbon loss from intensive land use in a semi-arid temperate grassland
Li, P. (Creator), Sayer, E. (Creator), Jia, Z. (Creator), Wu, Y. (Creator), Deng, M. (Creator), Wang, X. (Creator), Liu, C. (Creator), Wang, B. (Creator), Wang, Y. (Creator), Bai, Y. (Creator) & Liu, L. (Creator), Dryad, 2021
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.n02v6wwzj, http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.n02v6wwzj
Dataset
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18S rDNA OTU table of fungal community in a tropical forest
Lu, Z. (Creator), Li, H. (Creator), Sayer, E. J. (Creator), Liu, Z. (Creator), Li, L. (Creator), Chen, Y. (Creator), Qin, G. (Creator), Li, J. (Creator), Zhou, J. (Creator), Huang, X. (Creator), Zhang, J. (Creator), Wu, J. (Creator), Thapa, P. (Creator) & Wang, F. (Creator), Zenodo, 2023
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7927564, https://zenodo.org/record/7927564
Dataset
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Data from: Decomposition of coarse woody debris in a long-term litter manipulation experiment: a focus on nutrient availability
Gora, E. M. (Creator), Sayer, E. J. (Creator), Turner, B. L. (Creator) & Tanner, E. V. J. (Creator), Dryad, 2019
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.kh657, http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.kh657
Dataset
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Data from: The Automated Root Exudate System (ARES): a method to apply solutes at regular intervals to soils in the field
Lopez-Sangil, L. (Creator), George, C. T. (Creator), Medina-Barcenas, E. (Creator), Birkett, A. J. (Creator), Baxendale, C. (Creator), Bréchet, L. M. (Creator), Estradera-Gumbau, E. (Creator), Sayer, E. J. (Creator) & George, C. (Creator), Dryad, 2018
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.dt4jq, http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.dt4jq
Dataset