Professional summary

Rebecca is interested in challenges associated with sustainable land use and especially how we will meet future demands for food, fibre and fuel while protecting the natural environment. Her research has focused on the impacts of land use change to bioenergy cropping on biodiversity, soil carbon and ecosystem processes, and the translations and interactions between research in this area and policy.

Rebecca is working within the Supergen Bioenergy Hub as a Topic Representative. The Supergen Bioenergy Hub brings together researchers in the field of bioenergy to develop sustainable biomass systems that support the UK's transition to an affordable, resilient, low-carbon energy future. She is also involved in: the MAGLUE project: Measurement and Analysis of bioenergy greenhouse gases: Integrating greenhouse gases into life-cycle assessments and the UK Bioenergy Value Chain Modelling Environment; SUNRISE: Sustainable Use of Natural Resources to Improve Human Health with other UK universities and institutes; and, Support Economic Development, in which she is collaborating with Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia on sustainable agroforestry systems.

Selected publications

Rowe R.L. et al. , (2024), Low risk management intervention: limited impact of remedial tillage on net ecosystem carbon balance at a commercial Miscanthus plantation. GCB Bioenergy, 16, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13114

McDonald Lewis J. et al. , (2023), Synergy between industry and agriculture: techno-economic and life cycle assessments of waste recovery for crop growth in glasshouses. Journal of Cleaner Production, 432, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139650

Clifton‐Brown John et al. , (2023), Perennial biomass cropping and use: shaping the policy ecosystem in European countries. GCB Bioenergy, 15, 538-558, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13038

Rowe Rebecca et al. , (2022), Workshop report: land use decision-making for biomass deployment, bridging the gap between national scale targets and field scale decisions. https://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Report-_Land-use-decision-making-Supergen-Bioenergy-Hub.pdf

Rowe Rebecca L. et al. , (2016), Initial soil C and land-use history determine soil C sequestration under perennial bioenergy crops. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12311

von Hellfeld Rebecca et al. , (2022), Expanding the Miscanthus market in the UK: growers in profile and experience, benefits and drawbacks of the bioenergy crop. GCB Bioenergy, 14, 1205-1218, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12997

Fitch Alice et al. , (2022), The coffee compromise: is agricultural expansion into tree plantations a sustainable option?. Sustainability, 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14053019

Rowe Rebecca L. et al. , (2022), Improved coffee management by farmers in state forest plantations in Indonesia: an experimental platform. Land, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11050671

Whitaker Jeanette et al. , (2017), Consensus, uncertainties and challenges for perennial bioenergy crops and land use. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12488

Rowe, Rebecca L. et al. , (2013), Evaluating ecosystem processes in willow short rotation coppice bioenergy plantations. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, 5, 257-266, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12040