Research interests
Current research themes:
1. Development of pollen-landscape calibration datasets for the quantification of past land cover, and application to archaeology, nature conservation and climate change research. See also Leverhulme Trust-funded Deforesting Europe project webpages.
2. Human-environment relationships in past societies, with a particular focus on prehistory.
3. Sustainable conservation and management of the archaeological and palaeoecological resource including involvement in the IUCN peatlands programme.
4. GIS pedagogy in Higher Education, and the integration of GIS into schools in the UK.
UoP Research group membership
Centre for Research in Environment and Society (CeRES)
Quaternary Environments
Grants & contracts
External Research income since 2001
2010
2009
2008
|
£146,741
£62,794
£1,560
£6,370
£60,340
£910
£1,000
£5,200
£4,680
£9,700
£11,936 |
Leverhulme Trust: Deforesting Europe: a pollen-based reconstruction of Holocene land cover change with Roberts (Plymouth)
Forest of Dartmoor ESA: Dartmoor Blanket Bog project, 2010-12
NERC RCL: Constraints of late-glacial sealevel change in western Ireland Co-I, with Gehrels and Edwards
UoP PUP funds: High Upland Landscapes Project
Forest of Dartmoor ESA: Dartmoor Blanket Bog restoration project
DNPA: Trial excavation at Tottiford Reservoir, Dartmoor
DNPA: Post-excavation environmental work, Bellever, Dartmoor
UoP PUP funds: Pollen-based record of landuse change in the UK
NERC RCL: Testing a preliminary event stratigraphy (30-8ka) from the southern hemisphere Co-I, with Newnham, Callard and Vandergoes
ENPA: Assessment of Exmoor's Areas of outstanding Archaeological and Historic Importance
ENPA: MIRE project palaeoecological analyses |
2007 |
£191,125 |
PRIMaRE (Peninsula Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy): Socio-economic impacts of the Cornish Wave Hub and large scale marine renewable energy projects Co-I, with Bailey (PI) and Whitehead (PI) |
|
£7,405 |
British Academy [SG-47279]: Geochemical identification of prehistoric metallurgy in southwest Britain |
|
|
£6,803 |
DNPA: Cut Hill Project: phase 3 |
|
|
£2,942 |
University of Plymouth CETL (EL): Ireland GIS for teaching and research |
|
|
£2,441 |
English Heritage: Roman Lode iron working site
|
|
2006 |
£2,500 |
DNPA: Shovel Down Project: environmental post-excavation analysis |
|
|
£4,993 |
DNPA: Cut Hill Project: phase 2 |
|
|
£55,200 |
GWR/ENPA: Sustainable management of upland peat
|
|
2005 |
£2,760 |
AHRC/ORADS [2005/2/8]: Shovel Down Project [ 8 AMS radiocarbon dates] |
|
|
£5,439 |
ENPA: Peatland survey, Exmoor |
|
|
£3,387 |
Devon County Council: Landscapes of the lower Exe valley (pilot) |
|
|
£1,600 |
ENPA: Dating North Twitchen Springs project [14C support]
|
|
2004 |
£6.626 |
British Academy [SG-39278]: Preseli Landscapes and Environment Project |
|
|
£4,860 |
AHRC/ORADS [2004/1/8]: Shovel Down Project [ 14 AMS radiocarbon dates] |
|
|
£3,000 |
FORE (EU 5th Framework): Pollen-landscape calibration in northern Sweden |
|
2003 |
£7,500 |
NordForsk (with Caseldine): Convening 7th POLLANDCAL workshop, Exeter |
|
2000-4 |
c.£4,000 |
NordForsk: travel and subsistence at POLLANDCAL workshops |
|
2002 |
£404 |
ENPA: Dating Halscombe Allotment [14C support] |
|
2001 |
£800 |
NERC RCL (with Brown): Dating Exebridge pollen record [2 AMS dates] |
Publications
Peer-review articles and book chapters
Fyfe, RM (in press) Bronze Age landscape dynamics: spatially detailed pollen analysis from a ceremonial complex Journal of Archaeological Science
Woodbridge, J, Fyfe, RM, Law, B and Haworth Johns, A (in press) A spatial approach to upland vegetation change and human impact: the Aber Valley, Snowdonia Environmental Archaeology
Fyfe, RM and Woodbridge, J (2012) Differences in time and space in upland vegetation patterning: analysis of pollen data from Dartmoor, UK Landscape Ecology 27, 745-760
Fyfe, RM and Davies, H (2011) The pattern of vegetation development on Exmoor Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society 154, 11-22
Fyfe, RM, Roberts, CN and Woodbridge, J (2010) A pollen-based pseudo-biomisation approach to anthropogenic land cover change The Holocene 20, 1165-1171
Gaillard M-J, Sugita S, Mazier F, Trondman, A-K, Broström A, Hickler T, Kaplan JO, Kjellström E, Kuneš P, Lemmen C, Olofsson J, Smith B, Strandberg G, Fyfe R, Nielsen AB, Alenius T, Balakauskas L, Barnekow L, Birks HJB, Bjune A, Björkman L, Giesecke T, Hjelle K, Kalnina L, Kangur M, van der Knaap WO, Koff T, Lagerås P, Latalowa M, Leydet M, Lechterbeck J, Lindbladh M, Odgaard B, Peglar S, Segerström U, von Stedingk H, Seppä H (2010) Holocene land cover reconstructions for studies on land cover-climate feedbacks Climate of the Past 6, 483-499
Fyfe, RM, Caseldine, CJ and Gillings, M (2010) Pushing the boundaries of data? Issues in the construction of rich visual past landscapes Quaternary International 220, 153-159
Fyfe, RM and Greeves, T (2010) The date and context of a stone row: Cut Hill, Dartmoor, southwest England Antiquity 84, 55-70
Adams, H and Fyfe, RM (2009) Sustainable conservation and management of the historic environment record in upland peat: a view from Exmoor Transactions of the Devonshire Association 141, 39-60
Fyfe, RM, de Beaulieu, J-L, Binney, H, Bradshaw, RHW, Brewer, S, Le Flao, A, Finsinger, W, Gaillard, M-J, Giesecke, T, Gil-Romera, G, Grimm, EC, Huntley, B, Kunes, P, Kuhl, N, Leydet, M, Lotter, AF, Tarasov, PE and Tonkov, S (2009) The European Pollen Database: past efforts and current activities Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 18, 417-424
von Stedingk, H and Fyfe, RM (2009) The use of pollen analyses to reveal Holocene tree line dynamics – a modelling approach The Holocene 19, 273-283
Votier, SC, Bearhop, S, Fyfe, R and Furness, RW (2008) Linking temporal and spatial variation in the diet of a marine top predator with commercial fisheries Marine Ecology Progress Series 367, 223-232
Broström, A, Nielsen, AB, Gaillard, M-J, Hjelle, K, Mazier, F, Binney, H, Bunting ,M-J, Fyfe, RM, Meltsov, V, Poska, A, Räsänen, S, Soepboer, W, Stedingk, H, Suutari, H and Sugita, S (2008) Pollen productivity estimates – the key to landscape reconstructions Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 17, 461-478
Caseldine, CJ, Fyfe, RM and Hjelle (2008) Pollen modelling, palaeoecology and archaeology – virtualisation and/or visualisation of the past? Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 17, 543-549
Fyfe, RM, Brück, J, Johnston, R, Lewis, H, Roland, T and Wickstead, H (2008) Historical context and chronology of Bronze Age enclosure on Dartmoor, UK Journal of Archaeological Science 35, 2250-2261
Gaillard, M-J, Sugita, S, Bunting, MJ, Middleton, R, Brostrom, A, Caseldine, C, Giesecke, T, Hellman, SEV, Hicks, S, Hjelle, H, Langdon, C, Nielsen, A-B, Poska, A, von Stedingk, H, Veski, S and POLLANDCAL members (2008) The use of modelling and simulation approach in reconstructing past landscapes from fossil pollen data: a review and results from the POLLANDCAL network Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 17, 419-443
von Stedingk, H, Fyfe, RM and Allard, A (2008) Pollen productivity estimates for the reconstruction of past vegetation at the forest-tundra ecotone The Holocene 18, 323-332
Amesbury, M, Charman, DJ, Fyfe, RM, Langdon, PG and West, S (2008) Bronze Age settlement decline in Southwest England: testing the climate change hypothesis Journal of Archaeological Science 35, 87-98
Fyfe, RM (2007) The importance of local-scale openness within regions dominated by closed woodland Journal of Quaternary Science 22, 571-578
Caseldine, CJ, Fyfe, RM, Langdon, CT and Thompson, G (2007) Simulating the nature of vegetation communities at the opening of the Neolithic on Achill Island, Co. Mayo, Ireland - the potential role of models of pollen dispersal. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 144, 135-144
Darvill, T, Morgan Evans, D, Fyfe, R and Wainwright, G (2006) Strumble-Preseli Ancient Communities and Environment Study (SPACES): fourth report 2005 Archaeology in Wales 45, 17-23.
Fyfe, RM (2006) Sustainable conservation and management of the historic environment record in upland peat: a view from Exmoor International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management 2, 146-149
Fyfe, RM (2006) Palaeoenvironmental perspectives on medieval landscape development. In Turner, S (ed.) Medieval Devon and Cornwall: shaping an ancient countryside. Windgather Press, Macclesfield, 10-23
Rippon, SJ, Fyfe, RM and Brown, AG (2006) Beyond villages and open fields: the origins and development of a historic landscape characterised by dispersed settlement in South West England. Medieval Archaeology 50, 31-70
Caseldine, CJ and Fyfe, RM (2006) A modelling approach to locating and characterising elm decline/landnam clearances. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 632-644.
Fyfe, RM (2006) GIS and the application of a model of pollen deposition and dispersal: a new approach to testing landscape hypotheses using the POLLANDCAL models. Journal of Archaeological Science 33, 483-493.
Fyfe, RM, Brown, AG and Rippon, SJ (2004) Characterising the late prehistoric, “Romano-British” and medieval landscape, and dating the emergence of a regionally distinct agricultural system in South West Britain. Journal of Archaeological Science 31, 1699-1714.
Fyfe, RM and Rippon, SJ (2004) A landscape in transition? Palaeoenvironmental evidence for the end of ‘Romano-British’ period in southwest England. In: Collins, R and Gerrard, J (eds) Debating Late Antiquity in Britain, AD 300-700. British Archaeological Reports British Series 365, Oxford, 33-42.
Fyfe, RM, Brown, AG and Coles, BJ (2003) Mesolithic to Bronze Age vegetation change and human activity in the Exe Valley, Devon, UK. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 69, 161-181.
Fyfe, RM, Brown, AG and Rippon, SJ (2003) Mid- to late-Holocene vegetation history of Greater Exmoor, UK: estimating the spatial extent of human-induced vegetation change Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 12, 215-232.
Conferences organised
Convenor of session entitled Quantitative Reconstruction of Past Landcover AEA conference, 2006
Co-convenor (with Prof. C. Caseldine), 7th POLLANDCAL conference, University of Exeter, 2003
Co-convenor (with Dr S. McGarry), 3rd Annual QRA Postgraduate conference, University of Exeter, 1999.
