Dr Helen Shaw
Geography, ICARUS, Faculty of Social Sciences
Biography
I am a Lecturer/ Assistant Professor in Biogeography and Palaeoecology in ICARUS and the Department of Geography at Maynooth University, a post I have held since moving to Ireland from Wales in 2017. I am also Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
After graduating from two undergraduate degrees spanning Ecology (Southampton Biology 1997) and Geology/Environmental Science (Open University Science 1998) I worked at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, where I assisted with the scientific management of national and international programmes, such as NERC URGENT and IGBP GCTE Focus 3 as well as the UNESCO MAB UK secretariat. I then moved to Scotland to undertake a PhD in palaeoecology. I graduated with a PhD from Stirling University. My PhD explored the palaeoecological history of the fantastic Glen Affric pine woods in Scotland. This research was applied to the management planning for the future of the pine woods, an area which forms an exemplar of rewilding for future forest sustainability.
Following my PhD I worked as a researcher at the International Centre for the Uplands in Cumbria, where I gained interdisciplinary experience and developed my interest in social-ecological systems and resilience. The work was focused on the sustainable management of upland systems via information flow between research and land managers. Whilst working at the centre I developed conferences on sustainable upland management, resilience in the uplands and adaptation to climate change as well as workshops on various themes including barriers to innovative planning development in national parks.
In combination with my work at the Upland Centre and my palaeoecology research I realised that landscape management relied on very short timescales. Concepts of resilience and rewilding, dynamics and change were limited by static conservation management guidelines, and, likewise environmental benefits in agricultural management were target focussed and static. I then developed a research project, with Professor Ian Whyte at Lancaster University which was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, investigating upland landscape change in the North West of England. In this project we examined post-medieval landscape change via palaeoecology and history and applied this to ideas of sustainable landscape management for the future. My research has helped shape the growing assertion that long-term ecological dynamics are important. It is important to realise that traditional land management was always shifting and that these layers of history still impact on the present ecology.
During my time at Lancaster University I also taught on the adult education post graduate programme in the Centre for North West Regional Studies, contributing both a module on Ecology of the Lake District and to the field trip module. My research at Lancaster was followed by teaching posts at Liverpool John Moores University and in Wales, where I enjoyed developing and teaching a range of modules across conservation and environmental science. I love to get out in the field and teach practical sessions. I have taught on the Geography programme in Maynooth since 2017, covering biology and ecological sustainability subject areas as well as introducing the subject of palaeoecology via a new module.
I am supposed to be on a break from teaching in my role as ADTL, but I am still teaching on the Biology with Geography field trip, co-teach on the Masters in Climate Change (Palaeoclimate module) and am just starting a new fourth year module in Advanced Palaeoecology for 2024/25. I try to use our wonderful Green Campus as much as possible for outdoor teaching. I am very interested in communicating about the importance of biodiversity and ecology for future sustainability. A liveable planet means maintaining a functioning, diverse and living planet.
I am currently working on several research projects and themes:
- Understanding of the representation of biodiversity in pollen diagrams. This work focuses on pollen representation of herbaceous species and the grazing signal of coprophilous fungal spores.
- Understanding the provenance and processes of change in ancient woodlands. In which I have been working with Dr John Devaney from Biology among others to develop a new report on ancient woodlands for National Parks and Wildlife Service. Following this we have started a DAFM and NPWS funded project "Ancient Woodlands Ireland", to expand this research.
- Developing site histories for peat bogs in Ireland for community education and development in which I contributed palaeoecological information from a study at Lullymore to the Biodiversity Boardwalk info panels at Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park.
- Adding to understanding of the role of economic shocks to peatland exploitation (With Dr Aziz Mohibbi).
- Understanding machair (with Dr Eileen Tisdall (Stirling University).
- Collaborating with Dr Lisa Orme on peatland carbon balance research.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Helen_Shaw2
Research Interests
My research so far has focused on upland environments, both forest and pastoral. My interests span cultural historical landscapes, relict landscapes and rewilding.
I am working with Lullymore heritage and Discovery Park to provide a palaeoecological history of Lullymore bog. The bog is cut over but we can still obtain an early history of ecological change. This work is supported by the Peatlands Community Engagement fund.
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | van Asperen, E.N.; Kirby, J.R.; Shaw, H.E. (2023) 'Multi-proxy evidence for woodland clearance in northeast Northumberland (England) during the Iron Age'. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, . [Link] [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2020 | van Asperen E.; Kirby J.; Shaw H. (2020) 'Relating dung fungal spore influx rates to animal density in a temperate environment: Implications for palaeoecological studies'. Holocene, 30 (2):218-232. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2020 | Shaw, H; Whyte, I (2020) 'Interpretation of the herbaceous pollen spectra in paleoecological reconstructions: A spatial extension of Indices of Association and determination of individual pollen source areas from binary data'. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 279 . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2014 | Seddon, A.W., Mackay, A.W., Baker, A.G., Birks, H.J., Breman, E. , Buck, C.E., Ellis, E.C., Froyd, C.A., Gill, J.L., Gillson, L. , Johnson, E.A., Jones, V.J., Juggins, S. , Macias‐Fauria, M. , Mills, K., Morris, J.L., Nogués‐Bravo, D., Punyasena, S.W., Roland, T.P., Tanentzap, A.J., Willis, K.J., Aberhan, M. , Asperen, E.N., Austin, W.E., Battarbee, R.W., Bhagwat, S., Belanger, C.L., Bennett, K.D., Birks, H.H., Bronk Ramsey, C., Brooks, S.J., Bruyn, M. , Butler, P.G., Chambers, F.M., Clarke, S.J., Davies, A.L., Dearing, J.A., Ezard, T.H., Feurdean, A., Flower, R.J., Gell, P., Hausmann, S., Hogan, E.J., Hopkins, M.J., Jeffers, E.S., Korhola, A.A., Marchant, R. , Kiefer, T., Lamentowicz, M., Larocque‐Tobler, I., López‐Merino, L., Liow, L.H., McGowan, S., Miller, J.H., Montoya, E., Morton, O., Nogué, S., Onoufriou, C., Boush, L.P., Rodriguez‐Sanchez, F., Rose, N.L., Sayer, C.D., Shaw, H.E., Payne, R., Simpson, G., Sohar, K., Whitehouse, N.J., Williams, J.W. and Witkowski, A. (2014) 'Looking forward through the past: identification of 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology'. Journal of Ecology, 102 (1):256-267. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2013 | Bunting, M.J., Farrell, M., Broström, A,. Hjelle, K.L., Mazier, F., Middleton, R., Nielsen, A.B., Rushton, E., Shaw, H., Twiddle, C.L. (2013) 'Palynological perspectives on vegetation survey: a critical step for model-based reconstruction of Quaternary land cover'. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 82 :41-55. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2013 | Ralph M Fyfe, Claire Twiddle, Shinya Sugita, Marie-José Gaillard, Philip Barratt, Christopher J Caseldine, John Dodson, Kevin J Edwards, Michelle Farrell, Cynthia Froyd, Michael J Grant, Elizabeth Huckerby, James B Innes, Helen Shaw, Martyn Waller (2013) 'The Holocene vegetation cover of Britain and Ireland: overcoming problems of scale and discerning patterns of openness'. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 73 :132-148. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2013 | Basil AS Davis, Marco Zanon, Pamella Collins, Achille Mauri, Johan Bakker, Doris Barboni, Alexandra Barthelmes, Celia Beaudouin, Anne E Bjune, Elissaveta Bozilova, Richard HW Bradshaw, Barbara A Brayshay, Simon Brewer, Elisabetta Brugiapaglia, Jane Bunting, Simon E Connor, Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu, Kevin Edwards, Ana Ejarque, Patricia Fall, Assunta Florenzano, Ralph Fyfe, Didier Galop, Marco Giardini, Thomas Giesecke, Michael J Grant, Jöel Guiot, Susanne Jahns, Vlasta Jankovská, Stephen Juggins, Marina Kahrmann, Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek, Piotr Kołaczek, Norbert Kühl, Petr Kuneš, Elena G Lapteva, Suzanne AG Leroy, Michelle Leydet, José Guiot, José Antonio López Sáez, Alessia Masi, Isabelle Matthias, Florence Mazier, Vivika Meltsov, Anna Maria Mercuri, Yannick Miras, Fraser JG Mitchell, Jesse L Morris, Filipa Naughton, Anne Birgitte Nielsen, Elena Novenko, Bent Odgaard, Elena Ortu, Mette Venås Overballe-Petersen, Heather S Pardoe, Silvia M Peglar, Irena A Pidek, Laura Sadori, Heikki Seppä, Elena Severova, Helen Shaw, Joanna Święta-Musznicka, Martin Theuerkauf, Spassimir Tonkov, Siim Veski, WO van der Knaap, Jacqueline FN van Leeuwen, Jessie Woodbridge, Marcelina Zimny, Jed O Kaplan (2013) 'The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project'. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 22 (6):521-530. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2010 | Ian Convery, Ian Soane, Tom Dutson, Helen Shaw (2010) 'Mainstreaming LEADER delivery of the RDR in Cumbria: an interpretative phenomenological analysis'. Sociologia Ruralis, 50 (4):370-391. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2008 | Marie-José Gaillard, Shinya Sugita, M Jane Bunting, Richard Middleton, Anna Broström, Christopher Caseldine, Thomas Giesecke, Sophie EV Hellman, Sheila Hicks, Kari Hjelle, Catherine Langdon, Anne-Birgitte Nielsen, Anneli Poska, Henrik von Stedingk, Sim Veski (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 (5):419-443. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2006 | Helen Shaw, Richard Tipping (2006) 'Recent pine woodland dynamics in east Glen Affric, northern Scotland, from highly resolved palaeoecological analyses'. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research, 79 (3):340-340. [DOI] [Full-Text] |
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2013) 'Land Management and Biodiversity Through Time in Upper Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, UK: Understanding the Impact of Traditional Management' In: Cultural Severance and the Environment: The Ending of Traditional and Customary Practice on Commons and Landscapes Managed in Common. Netherlands : Springer. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2010 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2010) 'Land management and biodiversity through time in upper Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, UK: Understanding the impact of traditional management' In: The End of Tradition? Landscape Archaeology and Ecology Series 8. Sheffield : Wildtrack Publishing. [Link] | |
| 2013 | Shaw, H and Whyte, I (2013) 'Palaeoecological Records of Woodland History During Recent Centuries of Grazing and Management Examples from Glen Affric, Scotland and Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire' In: Trees, Forested Landscapes and Grazing Animals A European Perspective on Woodlands and Grazed Treescapes. Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge. [DOI] | |
| 2003 | Shaw, H and Tipping, R (2003) 'Recent woodland history from pollen analysis' In: The Quaternary of Glen Affric and Kintail. Field Guide. London : Quaternary Research Association. [Link] |
Other Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | H Shaw, I Whyte (2008) 'Shifting ecosystem services through time in the North West uplands' Physics World, 85 :99-106. [Link] |
Conference Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Shaw, H (2011) Woods as Working and Cultural Landscapes, Past and Present . In: Mills, Coralie M eds. The history of woodland dynamics in relict east Glen Affric pinewoods: A lack of human impact? Dunkeld, Perthshire, [Link] | |
| 2010 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2010) Managing the Future: building on the past, Proceedings of the 2009 Malham Tarn Research Seminar . In: Pickles A eds. Palaeoecology and landscape history in upper Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, UK Malham, Yorkshire, [Link] | |
| 2006 | Soane, I. and Shaw, H. (2006) The future of the Uplands: Sustainable scenarios for people, the environment and landscape . In: Soane, I. and Shaw, H eds. Conclusions and Conference Outcomes Kendal, Cumbria, 30/05/2006- 01/06/2006 [DOI] | |
| 2006 | Soane, I. and Shaw, H. (2006) The future of the Uplands: Sustainable scenarios for people, the environment and landscape . In: Soane, I. and Shaw, H eds. Introduction and Overview of Papers [Link] [DOI] |
Conference Contribution
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Nannan Li, Helen Shaw, Cathal Ryan, Lisa Orme (2024) IGC Dublin The Influence of Past Climate Change on the Carbon Accumulation Rates of Blanket Bogs: An Irish Perspective Dublin, . [Link] | |
| 2024 | Sean Pyne-O'Donnell1, Helen Shaw1, Jonathan Turner2, Elliot Carter, Michael Stock, Fraser Mitchell, Michelle Curran, Graeme Swindles, Callum Evans, Lisa Orme (2024) IGC Dublin HoStIr: Holocene Storminess in Ireland Dublin, . [Link] | |
| 2024 | Cathal S. Ryan, Helen Shaw, Nannan Li, Lisa C Orme (2024) IGC Dublin Investigating the past climate influence on the carbon accumulation rates of an Irish montane blanket bog Dublin, . [Link] | |
| 2024 | Abdul Aziz Mohibbi, Helen Shaw (2024) IGC Dublin Social and ecological shock in peatland and its change over time Dublin, . [Link] | |
| 2022 | Shaw, Helen, Scroxton, Nick (2022) IQUA Autumn symposium 2022 IQUA Autumn symposium 2022 Maynooth, 02/12/2022-02/12/2022. | |
| 2022 | Shaw, Helen (2022) Palaeoecology for community and education – a conundrum Yorkshire Palaeo Group meeting Online/Lincoln UK, . | |
| 2021 | Helen Shaw (2021) Palaeoecology meets environmental history 52nd Annual Conference of Irish Geographers Online, 18/05/2021-21/05/2021. | |
| 2021 | Helen Shaw (2021) Biodiversity and herb representation in pollen samples: an analysis from upper Ribblesdale Yorkshire The Yorkshire Palaeo Group Meeting April 2021 Online, . | |
| 2021 | Ro Charlton, Helen Shaw, Abbie Nugent (2021) Palaeoecological analysis of land-use changes and fluvial response in the River Suck catchment 52nd Annual Conference of Irish Geographers Online, 18/05/2021-21/05/2021. | |
| 2021 | Helen Shaw, Ro Charlton, Carla Ferreira (2021) Communicating the palaeoenvironmental archive 52nd Annual Conference of Irish Geographers Online, 18/05/2021-. | |
| 2021 | Helen Shaw, Carla Ferreira (2021) Applied palaeoecology – potentials and communication experiences 52nd Annual Conference of Irish Geographers Online, 18/05/2021-21/05/2021. | |
| 2019 | Shaw, Helen (2019) Beyond the bog: the importance and value of small-scale stratigraphic deposits in the landscape as archives for applied palaeoecology IQUA Symposium 2019 Dublin, 29/11/2019-29/11/2019. | |
| 2019 | Shaw, H. (2019) Understanding pollen representation of rare herb taxa at the local scale INQUA Dublin, 24/07/2019-31/07/2019. | |
| 2019 | Shaw, H. (2019) Beyond the bog: the importance and value of small-scale stratigraphic deposits in the landscape as archives for applied palaeoecology INQUA Dublin, 24/07/2019-31/07/2019. | |
| 2019 | Shaw, H. (2019) Forest sustainability and rewilding EUGEO CIG Galway, 15/05/2019-18/05/2019. | |
| 2019 | Shaw, H.; van Asperen; E. Kirby, J. (2019) Dung fungus: how does it represent the grazing record? EUGEO CIG Galway, 15/05/2019-18/05/2019. | |
| 2018 | Shaw, H. and Lawton, P. (2018) 50 Questions for Irish Geography research Conference of Irish Geographers 2018 Maynooth, Ireland, 10/05/2018-12/05/2018. | |
| 2018 | Shaw, H. (2018) Palaeoecology and community ecology, potential for close linkages: testing the ability to detect diversity and herbaceous pastoral species in pollen diagrams British Ecological Society Annual Meeting Birmingham, 16/12/2018-19/12/2018. | |
| 2018 | Shaw, H. (2018) S56: Conservation Science & Policy (Species & Diversity British Ecological Society Annual Meeting Birmingham, 16/12/2018-19/12/2018. | |
| 2018 | Maynooth University, Department of Geography (2018) n/a Conference of Irish Geographers 2018 Maynooth University, Ireland, 10/05/2018-12/05/2018. | |
| 2017 | Shaw, H. (2017) Palaeoecology and landscape history in Ribblesdale Conference of Irish Geographers 2017 University College Cork, 04/05/2017-06/05/2017. | |
| 2016 | Shaw, H. (2016) Palaeoecology and Community Ecology: Potential for close linkages? Quaternary Research Association Short Discussion Meeting — New Approaches, New Insights Cardiff Museum, Wales, 06/09/2016-07/09/2016. | |
| 2014 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2014) Human impact on the vegetation of pastoral uplands: recent centuries of change in the Yorkshire Dales, UK Open PAGES Focus 4 Workshop, Human-Climate-Ecosystem Interactions. Towards a more accurate quantification of human-environment interactions in the past University of Leuven, Belgium, 03/02/2014-07/02/2014. | |
| 2013 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2013) The contribution of palaeo-historical studies to understanding biodiversity and ecosystem services in traditional multifunctional landscapes BES/Intecol Annual meeting: BES Centenary London, 18/08/2013-23/08/2013. | |
| 2013 | Shaw, H. (2013) Extended spatial calculations of Indices of Association: assessing the interpretive value of rare pollen types in pollen diagrams Landscape-scale palaeoecology: towards quantitative reconstruction of landscape-scale vegetation mosaics from pollen data University of Hull, 05/09/2014-09/09/2014. | |
| 2012 | Shaw, H. (2012) Palaeoecological History around Windermere Trees Beyond the Wood An exploration of concepts of woods, forests and trees Sheffield Hallam University, 05/09/2012-05/09/2012. | |
| 2012 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2012) Land management and biodiversity through time in upper Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, UK: understanding the impact of traditional management Planet under pressure: new knowledge towards solutions London, 26/03/2012-29/03/2012. | |
| 2012 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2012) The impact of traditional pastoral management palaeoecological and historical contributions to understanding sustainability, resilience and ecosystem services QRA ADM Beaulieu, Hampshire, UK, 04/01/2012-06/01/2012. | |
| 2011 | Shaw, H and Whyte, I (2011) Interpreting the pollen signal to determine recent ecological change for nature conservation in the UK uplands INQUA Bern, Switzerland, 21/07/2011-27/07/2011. | |
| 2011 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2011) Understanding the spatial extent and taxonomic detail from pollen analyses in open land in Ribblesdale British Ecological Society Annual meeting Sheffield, 12/09/2012-14/09/2012. | |
| 2011 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2011) Post Medieval land use and vegetation change in upland Ribblesdale, Yorkshire Dales, UK Resilience 2011 Arizona State University, Phoenix Arizona, 11/03/2011-16/03/2011. | |
| 2010 | Shaw, H. (2010) Modern pollen analogues in Scotland and Yorkshire Empirical estimates of relative pollen productivity, Training Workshop University of Hull, . | |
| 2010 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2010) Post Medieval land use and vegetation change in upland Ribblesdale, Yorkshire Dales, UK Global change and the worlds mountains Centre for Mountain Studies, Perth, Scotland, 26/09/2010-30/09/2010. | |
| 2010 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2010) Land management and biodiversity through time in upper Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, UK Landclim 10000 workshop Lund, Sweden, 01/08/2010-01/08/2010. | |
| 2010 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2010) The little Ice age and upland farming in the Yorkshire Dales: Recent research in Ribblesdale Climate Change in the Yorkshire Dales Grassington, Yorkshire, 09/10/2010-09/10/2010. | |
| 2010 | Shaw, H. (2010) Woodland history in Glen Affric The Native Woodland Discussion Group Annual Conference Birnam Institute, Dunkeld, Scotland, 27/10/2010-27/10/2010. | |
| 2009 | Shaw, H. and Whyte, I. (2009) An introduction to palaeoecological and historical research in Ribblesdale North Yorkshire Landclim 10000 workshop Tallinn, Estonia, 01/10/2009-01/10/2009. | |
| 2009 | Shaw, Helen (2009) A palaeoecological approach to understanding and managing native pine woodland in Glen Affric Departmental seminar series. Archaeology department, Bradford University Bradford, . | |
| 2008 | Shaw, H. (2008) Shifting ecosystem services through time in the North West uplands: implications for valuing and for planning future adaptation RICS North Rural Conference Kendal, Cumbria, 25/09/2008-25/09/2008. | |
| 2008 | Shaw, Helen (2008) Resilience or transformation? Social-ecological systems in upland cultural landscapes e-conference International Centre for the Uplands Conference Penrith, Cumbria, . | |
| 2008 | Shaw, Helen (2008) Bridging the Gap Workshop Workshop examining how palaeoecology can be better applied University of Hull, . | |
| 2007 | Shaw, H. (2007) Global Warming, What do I care? Global Warming, What do I care? Penrith, Cumbria, 31/03/2007-31/03/2007. | |
| 2005 | Shaw, H. (2005) Determining detailed woodland history from pollen analysis in Glen Affric, Scotland: spatial resolutions and pollen vegetation representation in a patchy pinewood ecosystem Open Science Conference on Global Change in Mountain Regions Perth, Scotland, 02/10/2005-06/10/2005. | |
| 2004 | Shaw, Helen (2004) Pollen-vegetation relationships in Glen Affric The Bursary Lecture. Inverness Field Club. November 2004 Inverness, . | |
| 2004 | Shaw, H. (2004) Long term ecology of Glen Affric British Ecological Society Annual Meeting: Ecology Without Frontiers: Environmental Challenges Across Europe. Ecology Without Frontiers: Environmental Challenges Across Europe Lancaster University, . | |
| 2003 | Shaw H. & Tipping R. (2003) Woodland history at stand scales using fine resolution pollen analysis: a case study from east Glen Affric, Scotland The Sixth Regional Biodiversity Conference. Sheffield Sheffield, . |
Thesis
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | H Shaw (2006) A palaeoecological investigation of long-term stand-scale ecological dynamics in semi-open native pine woods: contributing to conservation management in east Glen Affric. Stirling, UK: [Thesis] [Link] |
Teaching Interests
Teaching:
I am on a break from teaching whilst undertaking service role as ADTL
I am still co-teaching GY664.
I am teaching a new Advanced palaeoecology module in 2024/25 GY467
I have led and taught the following modules
GY217 Biogeography
GY317 Global ecosystems and sustainability
GY367 Palaeoecology
GY310B Geography research workshops group.
In these modules I make use of our university Green Campus to enhance student learning.
I have also co-taught or contributed to
GY671 Field Course for MSc in Climate Change
GY209 Reading geography
GY205 Geography field trip
GY308 Field Trip
I have supervised a range of UG thesis projects in ecological/palaeoecological and environmental science subject areas.
I am always happy to speak to students about support for summer projects or thesis supervisions as well as PhD applications.