Tom joined Forest Research as a PhD researcher in 2018 and now works for Forest Research as a Silviculture & Species Scientist. His current research focus is on investigating the potential for alternative and emerging tree species to adapt our forests to the challenges of a changing climate, using a network of both UK experiments and European experiments established under the REINFFORCE project. Tom’s research continues to focus heavily on understanding how resistant and resilient different species and communities are to drought and other extreme events, and how we can reliably operationalise resilience concepts. Tom currently co-leads the Forestry & Woodland Resilience to Drought (FORWaRD) project and is responsible for the delivery of WP2, which is using dendroecological methods to quantify the impact of past drought events on a range of native UK broadleaf species and species mixtures.
Tom completed his PhD at Stirling University in collaboration with Forest Research in 2022, the focus of which was on quantifying the resilience of Scots pine and Sitka spruce to drought in the UK. Before his PhD, Tom also completed a Masters in Environmental Forestry at the University of Bangor, which focused on forest habitat networks, reintroduction biology and dispersal ecology; his thesis project used eco-evolutionary, spatially explicit individual based modelling to improve the reintroduction success of large carnivores.
Prior to joining Forest Research, Tom has worked in a range of industries, including the private forest sector, counter fraud analytics, biosecurity, and conservation, both in the UK and New Zealand.
Affiliations
Chair of the British Ecological Society’s Forest Ecology Group
Member of the Association for Tree-ring Research
Member of the Royal Forestry Society
Member of the British Ecological Society
Associate of the Institute of Chartered Foresters
Tom Ovenden
PhD, MSc
Scientist - Silviculture & Species
Silviculture and wood properties
NRS
Northern Research Station
Bush Estate
Roslin
Scotland
Related Research
Related Publications
Other Research
Peer reviewed journal articles
Buras, A., Ovenden, T., Rammig, A., Zang, C.S., 2022. Refining the standardized growth change method for pointer year detection: Accounting for statistical bias and estimating the deflection period. Dendrochronologia 74, 125964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2022.125964
Ovenden, T.S., Perks, M.P., Forrester, D.I., Mencuccini, M., Rhoades, J., Thompson, D.L., Stokes, V.J. and Jump, A.S., 2022. Intimate mixtures of Scots pine and Sitka spruce do not increase resilience to spring drought. Forest Ecology and Management, 521, p.120448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120448
Ovenden, T.S., Perks, M.P., Clarke, T.-K., Mencuccini, M., Jump, A.S., 2021. Threshold Response to
Extreme Drought Shifts Inter-Tree Growth Dominance in Pinus sylvestris. Front. For. Glob. Chang. 4, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.737342
Ovenden, T.S., Perks, M.P., Clarke, T‐K, Mencuccini, M, Jump, A.S. Life after recovery: Increased resolution of forest resilience assessment sheds new light on post‐drought compensatory growth and recovery dynamics. J Ecol. 2021; 00: 1– 14. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13576
Thompson, D.L., Ovenden, T.S., Pennycott, T., Nager, R.G., 2020. The prevalence and source of plastic incorporated into nests of five seabird species on a small offshore island. Mar Pollut Bull. 154:111076. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111076
Ovenden, T.S., Palmer, S.C.F., Travis, J.M.J., Healey, J.R., 2019. Improving reintroduction success in large carnivores through individual-based modelling: How to reintroduce Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) to Scotland. Biol. Conserv. 234, 140–153. DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.03.035
Ovenden, T.S., 2019. The potential for lynx reintroduction to Scotland: Innovative modelling provides robust scientific evidence to inform decision-making. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.35390.84806 (Policy brief).