Staff Profile

Biographical Sketch

I am a soil and ecosystem scientist studying the cycling of elements (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, base cations) within the context of sustainable land-use, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and ecosystem restoration. My current research explores the potential of nature-based solutions to provide multiple benefits for people and nature, focusing on innovations in technology and management for carbon dioxide removal and nature recovery. My research group is highly interdisciplinary, drawing from techniques in soil science, ecology, microbiology, plant physiology, atmospheric chemistry, biometeorology, remote sensing, process-based modelling and the social sciences to address complex socio-ecological research questions. My current research efforts are focused on agro-ecosystems (UK, SE Asia, Africa), managed peatlands (UK, SE Asia) and human-modified tropical forests. 

Qualifications

PhD University of California at Berkeley, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, 1999-2005                                                               

BA (Hons) with Distinction University of California at Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, 1994-1998

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy UK, 2016

Academic Posts

Professor of Soil Science Newcastle University, June 2019 to present

Reader in Biogeochemistry University of Aberdeen, August 2017-May 2019

Senior Lecturer in Soil Biogeochemistry University of Aberdeen, June 2013-July 2017

SAGES Lecturer in the Terrestrial Carbon Cycle University of St Andrews, October 2007-May 2013

Postdoctoral Scholar University of California at Berkeley, 2005-2007

External Service

Associate Editor for Ecology and Evolution, 2014-2022

Associate Editor for Plant Ecology and Diversity, 2018-present

Guest Associate Editor for Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2018-2020

Member of NERC Peer Review College, 2012-present

Research Interests

Biogeochemistry, nature-based solutions, climate change adaptation and mitigation, barriers to uptake of innovation, sustainable management of socio-ecological systems 

Research Grants (2007 to present)

• Department of Science, Innovation & Technology: “5G Innovation Regions (5GIR),” 2023-present; Award: ~£3.8M (Newcastle: ~£800K); PI: L. St Louis (Sunderland Council); PI (Newcastle): J. Standen; Co-Is (Newcastle): H. Davis, E. Lopez-Capel, M. Pfeifer, J. Phillipson, A. Prashar, Y.A. Teh, S. Wilson
• Department of Energy Security and Net Zero Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme: "Biomass Connect," 2022-present; Award: ~£5M; PI: J. Whitaker (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, CEH); Co-Is: Y.A. Teh, C. Bell (CEH), A. Keith (CEH), R. Rowe (CEH), I. Shield (Rothamstead Research), W. Macalpine (Rothamstead Research), I. Donnison (Aberystwyth), C. Ashman (Aberystwyth), W. Stiles (Aberystwyth), C. Johnston (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute), D. Lawson (SRUC), P. Bouffandeau (SRUC), B. Rees (SRUC), K. Lindegaard (Crops for Energy)
• UKRI Future of UK Treescapes Programme: "Agroforestry Futures," 2022-present; Award: £630K; PI: L Frewer; Co-PI: Y.A. Teh; Co-Is: J. Standen, M.J. Whittingham, M. Pfeifer, F. Areal (Northumbria), J. Clarke (Robert Gordon), M. Lukac (Reading), R.D. Girling (Reading), F. Eigenbrod (Southhampton).
• Innovate UK Farming Innovation Pathways: “Novel technologies for on-farm measurement of greenhouse gas emissions,” 2021-present; Award: £220K; PI: J Cooper; Co-Is: Y.A. Teh, H. Davis, M. Travers (Anglia Ruskin), S. Purser (Mirico Ltd).
• Woodland Trust Small Grant: “Unravelling re- and de-forestation impacts on carbon capture in limestone catchment areas,” 2021-present; Award: £19.5K; PI: M. Rogerson (Northumbria); Co-Is: M. Prendergast-Miller (Northumbria), Y.A. Teh, D. Rempe (University of Texas), P. Mann (Northumbria), V. Ersek (Northumbria) 
• Pitch-IN Fund: “Hinterland4.0: From Smart Cities to Smart Regions,” 2020-2021; Award: £200K; PI: P. James. Co-Is: Y.A. Teh, L. Smith, J. Joncyzk
• ClimateXChange: Synthesizing evidence of forest-to-bog restoration impacts on carbon emissions, 2018-2019; Award: £21K; R Artz (PI, James Hutton Institute); R Andersen (PI, University of Highlands and Islands; J-A Subke (PI, Stirling), N Cowie (RSPB), YA Teh (Aberdeen), TC Hill (Exeter), S Govan (ClimateXChange) and S Marks (The Scottish Government)
• Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB): Ecosystem carbon and nitrogen dynamics of tropical peatlands, phase 2, 2017-2020; Award:MYR7.5M (~£1.37M); YA Teh (PI), LK Khoo (PI; MPOB), TC Hill (PI, Exeter), Mohd Haniff Harun (Co-I; MPOB), Hj. Mohd Roslan Md Noor (Co-I; MPOB) & Zulkifli Hashim (Co-I; MPOB)
• NERC Highlight Topic: The Global Methane Cycle, 2016-2020; Award: £4M; E. Nisbet (PI; Royal Holloway University of London), YA Teh (Co-I), J. Smith (Aberdeen), S Waldron (Glasgow) and 40 other investigators.
• NERC Capital Investment: Mobile isotope and greenhouse gas laboratory, 2016-2018; Award: £500K; YA Teh (PI), D. Johnson (Aberdeen), J. Barlow (Lancaster), R. Ewers (Imperial College), C. Joly (State University of Campinas, Brazil), O. Lewis (Oxon), Y. Malhi (Oxon), G. Reynolds (South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme)
• NERC Human-modified Tropical Forests Programme: Programme Management Grant, 2014-2018;Award: Approx. £1M; YA Teh (PI), J. Barlow (Lancaster), R. Ewers (Imperial College), C. Joly (State University of Campinas, Brazil), O. Lewis (Oxon), Y. Malhi (Oxon), G. Reynolds (South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme)
• FACCE-ERA-NET Program: GreenRice – Sustainable and environmental friendly rice cultivation systems in Europe, 2014-2018; Award: €2.13M (~£1.7M); B. Courtois (PI, CIRAD France); V. Giampiero (Co-I, CRA Italy); B. San Segundo (Co-I, CRAG Spain); A. Price (PI, Aberdeen), Y.A. Teh (Co-I, Aberdeen), P. Bonfante (Co-I, Università degli Studi di Torino) & 4 other investigators
• Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB): Ecosystem carbon and nitrogen dynamics of tropical peatlands, phase 1, 2014-2017; Award:MYR6.52M (~£1.24M); YA Teh (PI), LK Khoo (PI, MPOB), TC Hill (PI, St Andrews), Mohd Haniff Harun (Co-I, MPOB), Hj. Mohd Roslan Md Noor (Co-I, MPOB) & Zulkifli Hashim (Co-I, MPOB)
• NERC Human-modified Tropical Forests Programme: Biodiversity And Land-useImpacts on Tropical Ecosystem Function (BALI) Consortium, 2013-2019; Award:£5.2M; YA Teh (PI), D Burslem (Co-I), P Smith (Co-I) & 14 other investigators.
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): The effects of forest to bog restoration on carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour fluxes in Flow Country peatlands, 2012-2015; Award: £30K; TC Hill (PI, St Andrews), YA Teh(Co-I), J Moncrieff (Edinburgh), P Levy (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) and N Cowie (RSPB)
• NERC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability Programme: A hierarchical approach to the examination of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem service flows across coastal margins (CBESS), 2012-2016;Award:£3.2M; DM Paterson (PI, St Andrews), YA Teh (Co-I)& the CBESS Consortium
• NERC Responsive Mode: Amazonian peatlands: A potentially important but poorly characterized source of atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide, 2011-2014; Award:£67K; YA Teh (PI), S Page (Co-I, Leicester) & JC Berrio (Co-I, Leicester)
• NERC Responsive Mode: Are tropical uplands regional hotspots for methane and nitrous oxide? 2010-2015; Award:£990K; YA Teh (PI), P Smith (Co-I, Aberdeen), E Baggs (Co-I Aberdeen) & P. Meir (Co-I, Edinburgh)
• NERC Responsive Mode: Quantifying event-driven methane fluxes from northern peatlands using a novel automated flux chamber technique, 2010-2012; Award:£82K; YA Teh (PI), P Ineson (CoI, York) & J-A Subke (Co-I, Stirling)
• NERC UKPopNet Programme: Biophysical drivers of methane ebullition in northern peatlands, 2009-2010; Award:£116K; YA Teh(PI), AJ Baird (Co-I Leeds), ERC Hornibrook (Co-I, Bristol), P Ineson (Co-I, York), K Redeker (York) & J-A Subke (York)

• Articles

  • Ewers RM, Orme CDL, Pearse WD, Zulkifli N, Yvon-Durocher G, Yusah KM, Yoh N, Yeo DCJ, Wong A, Williamson J, Wilkinson CL, Wiederkehr F, Webber BL, Wearn OR, Wai L, Vollans M, Twining JP, Turner EC, Tobias JA, Thorley J, Telford EM, Teh YA, Tan HH, Swinfield T, Svatek M, Struebig M, Stork N, Sleutel J, Slade EM, Sharp A, Shabrani A, Sethi SS, Seaman DJI, Sawang A, Roxby GB, Rowcliffe JM, Rossiter SJ, Riutta T, Rahman H, Qie L, Psomas E, Prairie A, Poznansky F, Pillay R, Picinali L, Pianzin A, Pfeifer M, Parrett JM, Noble CD, Nilus R, Mustaffa N, Mullin KE, Mitchell S, Mckinlay AR, Maunsell S, Matula R, Massam M, Martin S, Malhi Y, Majalap N, Maclean CS, Mackintosh E, Luke SH, Lewis OT, Layfield HJ, Lane-Shaw I, Kueh BH, Kratina P, Konopik O, Kitching R, Kinneen L, Kemp VA, Jotan P, Jones N, Jebrail EW, Hrones M, Heon SP, Hemprich-Bennett DR, Haysom JK, Harianja MF, Hardwick J, Gregory N, Gray R, Gray REJ, Granville N, Gill R, Fraser A, Foster WA, Folkard-Tapp H, Fletcher RJ, Fikri AH, Fayle TM, Faruk A, Eggleton P, Edwards DP, Drinkwater R, Dow RA, Dobert TF, Didham RK, Dickinson KJM, Deere NJ, de Lorm T, Dawood MM, Davison CW, Davies ZG, Davies RG, Dancak M, Cusack J, Clare EL, Chung A, Chey VK, Chapman PM, Cator L, Carpenter D, Carbone C, Calloway K, Bush ER, Burslem DFRP, Brown KD, Brooks SJ, Brasington E, Brant H, Boyle MJW, Both S, Blackman J, Bishop TR, Bicknell JE, Bernard H, Basrur S, Barclay MVL, Barclay H, Atton G, Ancrenaz M, Aldridge DC, Daniel OZ, Reynolds G, Banks-Leite C. Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate. Nature 2024, 631(8022), 808-813.
  • Manning FC, Kho LK, Hill TC, Nyawai TN, Rumpang E, Teh YA. Spatial variations in heterotrophic respiration from oil palm plantations on tropical peat soils. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 2024, 6, 1236566.
  • Basri MHA, McCalmont J, Kho LK, Hartley IP, Teh YA, Rumpang E, Signori-Müller C, Hill TC. Reducing bias on soil surface CO₂ flux emission measurements: Case study on a mature oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantation on tropical peatland in Southeast Asia. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 2024, 350, 110002.
  • Skov K, Wardman J, Healey M, McBride A, Bierowiec T, Cooper J, Edeh I, George D, Kelland ME, Mann J, Manning D, Murphy MJ, Pape R, Teh YA, Turner W, Wade P, Liu X. Initial agronomic benefits of enhanced weathering using basalt: A study of spring oat in a temperate climate. PLoS ONE 2024, 19(3 March), e0295031.
  • Mills MB, Both S, Jotan P, Huasco WH, Cruz R, Pillco MM, Burslem DFRP, Maycock C, Malhi Y, Ewers RM, Berrio JC, Kaduk J, Page S, Robert R, Teh YA, Riutta T. From tree to plot: investigating stem CO₂ efflux and its drivers along a logging gradient in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. New Phytologist 2024, 244(1), 91-103.
  • Mills MB, Malhi Y, Ewers RM, Kho LK, Teh YA, Both S, Burslem DFRP, Majalap N, Nilus R, Huaraca Huasco W, Cruz R, Pillco MM, Turner EC, Reynolds G, Riutta T. Tropical forests post-logging are a persistent net carbon source to the atmosphere. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2023, 120(3), e2214462120.
  • McCalmont J, Kho LK, Teh YA, Chocholek M, Rumpang E, Rowland L, Basri MHA, Hill TC. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantation on tropical peatland in South East Asia: Photosynthetic response to soil drainage level for mitigation of soil carbon emissions. Science of The Total Environment 2023, 858(Part 1), 159356.
  • Durrant E, Howson P, Puttick B, Potts S, Shennan-Farpón Y, Sari N, Allen N, Jo Y, Grainger M, Teh YA, Pfeifer M. Existing evidence on the use of participatory scenarios in ecological restoration: a systematic map. Environmental Evidence 2023, 12, 27.
  • Mazlan SM, Wan Mohd Jaafar WS, Omar H, Teh YA, Cutler MEJ. Assessing Forest Carbon Accumulation Potential Across Different Treatments using Field Inventory Data. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2023, 1167(1), 012028.
  • Hermans R, McKenzie R, Andersen R, Teh YA, Cowie N, Subke JA. Net soil carbon balance in afforested peatlands and separating autotrophic and heterotrophic soil CO₂ effluxes. Biogeosciences 2022, 19(2), 313-327.
  • Nottingham AT, Cheesman AW, Riutta T, Doughty CE, Telford E, Huaraca Huasco W, Svátek MKJ, Majalap N, Malhi Y, Meir P, Teh YA. Large contribution of recent photosynthate to soil respiration in tropical dipterocarp forest revealed by girdling. Journal of Ecology 2022, 110(2), 387-403.
  • Aguirre-Gutiérrez J, Berenguer E, Oliveras Menor I, Bauman D, Corral-Rivas JJ, Nava-Miranda MG, Both S, Ndong JE, Ondo FE, Bengone NN, Mihinhou V, Dalling JW, Heineman K, Figueiredo A, González-M R, Norden N, Hurtado-M AB, González D, Salgado-Negret B, Reis SM, Moraes de Seixas MM, Farfan-Rios W, Shenkin A, Riutta T, Girardin CAJ, Moore S, Abernethy K, Asner GP, Bentley LP, Burslem DFRP, Cernusak LA, Enquist BJ, Ewers RM, Ferreira J, Jeffery KJ, Joly CA, Marimon-Junior BH, Martin RE, Morandi PS, Phillips OL, Bennett AC, Lewis SL, Quesada CA, Marimon BS, Kissling WD, Silman M, Teh YA, White LJT, Salinas N, Coomes DA, Barlow J, Adu-Bredu S, Malhi Y. Functional susceptibility of tropical forests to climate change. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2022, 6(7), 878-889.
  • Hwong CN, Sim SF, Kho LK, Teh YA, Harrold LD, Chua KH, Zainal NH. Effects of Biochar from Oil Palm Biomass on Soil Properties and Growth Performance of Oil Palm Seedlings. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management 2022, 17(4), 183-200.
  • Milheiras SG, Sallu SM, Marshall AR, Shirima DD, Kioko EN, Loveridge R, Moore E, Olivier P, Teh YA, Rushton S, Pfeifer M. A Framework to Assess Forest-Agricultural Landscape Management for Socioecological Well-Being Outcomes. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 2022, 5, 709971.
  • Milodowski DT, Coomes DA, Swinfield T, Jucker T, Riutta T, Malhi Y, Svátek M, Kvasnica J, Burslem DFRP, Ewers RM, Teh YA, Williams M. The impact of logging on vertical canopy structure across a gradient of tropical forest degradation intensity in Borneo. Journal of Applied Ecology 2021, 58(8), 1764-1775.
  • McCalmont J, Kho LK, Teh YA, Lewis K, Chocholek M, Rumpang E, Hill TC. Short- and long-term carbon emissions from oil palm plantations converted from logged tropical peat swamp forest. Global Change Biology 2021, 27(11), 2361-2376.
  • Doughty CE, Cheesman AW, Riutta T, Thomson ER, Shenkin A, Nottingham AT, Telford EM, Huaraca Huasco W, Majalap N, Teh YA, Meir P, Malhi Y. Predicting tropical tree mortality with leaf spectroscopy. Biotropica 2021, 53(2), 581-595.
  • Aguirre-Gutiérrez J, Rifai S, Shenkin A, Oliveras I, Bentley LP, Svátek M, Girardin CAJ, Both S, Riutta T, Berenguer E, Kissling WD, Bauman D, Raab N, Moore S, Farfan-Rios W, Figueiredo AES, Reis SM, Ndong JE, Ondo FE, N'Ssi Bengone N, Mihindou V, Moraes de Seixas MM, Adu-Bredu S, Abernethy K, Asner GP, Barlow J, Burslem DFRP, Coomes DA, Cernusak LA, Dargie GC, Enquist BJ, Ewers RM, Ferreira J, Jeffery KJ, Joly CA, Lewis SL, Marimon-Junior BH, Martin RE, Morandi PS, Phillips OL, Quesada CA, Salinas N, Schwantes Marimon B, Silman M, Teh YA, White LJT, Malhi Y. Pantropical modelling of canopy functional traits using Sentinel-2 remote sensing data. Remote Sensing of Environment 2021, 252, 112122.
  • Martínez-Eixarch M, Alcaraz C, Guàrdia M, Català-Forner M, Bertomeu A, Monaco S, Cochrane N, Oliver V, Teh YA, Courtois B, Price AH. Multiple environmental benefits of alternate wetting and drying irrigation system with limited yield impact on European rice cultivation: The Ebre Delta case. Agricultural Water Management 2021, 258, 107164.
  • Riutta T, Kho LK, Teh YA, Ewers R, Majalap N, Malhi Y. Major and persistent shifts in below-ground carbon dynamics and soil respiration following logging in tropical forests. Global Change Biology 2021, 27(10), 2225-2240.
  • Monaco S, Volante A, Orasen G, Cochrane N, Oliver V, Price AH, Teh YA, Martínez-Eixarch M, Thomas C, Courtois B, Valé G. Effects of the application of a moderate alternate wetting and drying technique on the performance of different European varieties in Northern Italy rice system. Field Crops Research 2021, 270, 108220.
  • Ashton LA, Griffiths HM, Parr CL, Evans TA, Didham RK, Hasan F, Teh YA, Tin HS, Vairappan CS, Eggleton P. Termites mitigate the effects of drought in tropical rainforest. Science 2019, 363(6423), 174-177.
  • Hambley G, Andersen R, Levy P, Saunders M, Cowie NR, Teh YA, Hill TC. Net ecosystem exchange from two formerly afforested peatlands undergoing restoration in the Flow Country of northern Scotland. Mires and Peat 2019, 23, 1-14.
  • Manning FC, Kho LK, Hill TC, Cornulier T, Teh YA. Carbon Emissions From Oil Palm Plantations on Peat Soil. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 2019, 2, 1-21.
  • Subke JA, Moody CS, Hill TC, Voke N, Toet S, Ineson P, Teh YA. Rhizosphere activity and atmospheric methane concentrations drive variations of methane fluxes in a temperate forest soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 2018, 116, 323-332.
  • Riutta T, Malhi Y, Kho LK, Marthews TR, Huasco WH, Khoo M, Tan S, Turner E, Reynolds G, Both S, Burslem D, Teh YA, Vairappan CS, Majalap N, Ewers RM. Logging disturbance shifts net primary productivity and its allocation in Bornean tropical forests. Global Change Biology 2018, 24(7), 2913-2928.
  • Cook S, Whelan MJ, Evans CD, Gauci V, Peacock M, Garnett MH, Kho LK, Teh YA, Page SE. Fluvial organic carbon fluxes from oil palm plantations on tropical peatland. Biogeosciences 2018, 15(24), 7435-7450.
  • Jucker T, Asner GP, Dalponte M, Brodrick PG, Philipson CD, Vaughn NR, Arn Teh Y, Brelsford C, Burslem DFRP, Deere NJ, Ewers RM, Kvasnica J, Lewis SL, Malhi Y, Milne S, Nilus R, Pfeifer M, Phillips OL, Qie L, Renneboog N, Reynolds G, Riutta T, Struebig MJ, Svatek M, Turner EC, Coomes DA. Estimating aboveground carbon density and its uncertainty in Borneo's structurally complex tropical forests using airborne laser scanning. Biogeosciences 2018, 15(12), 3811-3830.
  • Teh YA, Murphy WA, Berrio JC, Boom A, Page SE. Seasonal variability in methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from tropical peatlands in the western Amazon basin. Biogeosciences 2017, 14, 3669-3683.
  • Yang WH, McNicol G, Teh YA, Estera-Molina K, Wood TE, Silver WL. Evaluating the Classical Versus an Emerging Conceptual Model of Peatland Methane Dynamics. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2017, 31(9), 1435-1453.
  • Diem T, Morley NJ, Ccahuana Quispe AJ, Huaraca Quispe LP, Baggs EM, Meir P, Richards MIA, Smith P, Teh YA. Complex controls on nitrous oxide flux across a large-elevation gradient in the tropical Peruvian Andes. Biogeosciences 2017, 14, 5077-5097.