Mr Paul Griffiths

I am a plant ecologist with an interest in how environmental conditions shape patterns of community assembly, structure, and persistence, particularly within ecosystems shaped by strong abiotic constraints and human influence. Ecosystems are dynamic, with humans acting as ecological participants, and my work focuses on how plant communities function under contemporary and future conditions rather than being defined solely by historical baselines.

Applied ecology is central to my research interests. My MSc dissertation, Buddleja davidii’s Role in Facilitation in an Emergent Novel Ecosystem in Cornwall’s China Clay Landscape, argued that existing mining restoration obligations are often ineffective, contributing to costly restoration failures, and demonstrated how self-assembled novel ecosystems can deliver resilient, future-proof ecosystems with higher biodiversity whilst fostering local identity. This helped shape my broader interest in using ecological evidence to critically inform policy and practice.

My current work uses the Living Roof Live Lab to investigate how green roofs can be designed to support ecological function whilst reducing embodied carbon and reliance on primary substrates through recycled and industrial materials and targeted substrate-aligned plant community designs that enhance resilience. By examining plant dynamics, ecophysiology, drought responses, and multi-taxa communities, I explore how biodiversity metrics for green roofs could expand beyond species richness alone by incorporating ecological drivers such as substrate, more representative habitat categories through substrate-aligned analogue and novel plant communities, and broader indicators including soil invertebrate communities to inform function-led policy and design in collaboration with the Green Roof Organisation.

At a broader level, I am interested in how ecological research and practice might contribute to repairing the metabolic rift between people and nature.