Professor Ross Cameron
BSc, PhD
School of Architecture and Landscape
Senior Lecturer
+44 114 222 0614
Full contact details
School of Architecture and Landscape
Arts Tower
Western Bank
葫芦影业
S10 2TN
- Profile
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I am a landscape horticulturalist specializing in the use and value of landscape plants.
My current research interests centre around green infrastructure and climate change mitigation, with a strong emphasis on providing recommendations on plant species choice with respect to ecosystem function (city cooling, thermal insulation, flood tolerance, biodiversity enhancement).
This includes currently supervising PhD projects on improving the thermal performance of buildings through appropriate plant selection e.g. on both green walls and green roofs.
I am also interested in identifying those plant species robust enough to tolerate urban conditions (both current and future), whilst meeting their specifications for performance. Recent studies include investigations into Mediterranean species that tolerate winter flooding, and how warmer autumns affect the development of young ornamental trees.
- Research interests
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- Benefits of urban plants as determined by plant species choice
- Gardens / Gardening for health and well-being
- Climate change and urban plants
- Green walls and building insulation
- Landscape plants and urban water management
Developing more sustainable landscape management techniques is a key driver in much of my research, and I have been involved in a number of projects investigating more efficient use of resources (water, organic waste streams as soil amendments, alternative growing media and energy).
I led a DEFRA LINK project - Efficient use of water in horticulture which proposed a 2/3 reduction in water use during the production of ornamental plants. This project involved 14 partner organizations and was rated 9/10 by DEFRA 鈥 one of the highest-ranking scores at the time.
I have also more recently conducted projects evaluating the use of grey water for landscape applications. I work closely with industry partners, for example, the Horticultural Trades Association on the 鈥榗arbon footprint鈥 of plant production and maintenance; and the Royal Horticultural Society on maximizing invertebrate biodiversity through the appropriate use of garden ornamentals.
As a landscape horticulturalist, I also am very keen to understand more about how people relate to the landscape and what sorts of plant-based designs provide strong resonance with the public and why?I am particularly interested in the relationship between plants, 鈥榥aturalistic鈥 landscapes and human well-being. As such I have worked on a number of consultations with stakeholders in this field, including MIND, the horticultural therapy charity THRIVE, The Royal Neurological Hospital and the Landscape Institute.
Funded Research Projects
- 2011 National Horticultural Fellowship (HDC/EMT/ HTA) 鈥 Nutrient management in ornamentals
- 2011 Establishment and management of Malaysian landscape ornamentals (Malaysian Gov.)
- 2010 Evaluating the potential of the non-grass lawn (various sponsors)
- 2010 Green roof plant species for the Mediterranean climate (Portuguese Gov.)
- 2010 RHS KTP 鈥 Plants for BUGS
- 2008 HTA Investigating the environmental impacts of gardening in the UK
- 2007 HDC Optimising leaf defoliation in young trees
- 2007 Grantscape- Market development for lower grade composts
- 2006 HDC Bedding plants 鈥 benchmarking current transport
- 2006 RHS Waterlogging intolerance and its remediation in Mediterranean plants
- 2004-2011 RHS Physiological development in garden plants.
- 2003-2011 HTA Reviews for 鈥楶lant for life鈥
- 2002 DEFRA Conventional and biotechnological genetic improvement of hardy nursery stock
- 2002 DEFRA To identify and overcome constraints to the efficient and consistent production of HNS in the UK.
- 2002 EU Framework Programme V. Improving Fraxinus (Ash) productivity for European needs by testing, selection, propagation and promotion of improved genetic resources.
- 2002 DEFRA Hortlink Improving the control and efficiency of water use in container-grown hardy ornamental nursery stock.
Areas of Potential Research Degree Supervision
- Landscape plants and ecosystem services
- Plant adaptation to stress
- Habitat Management
- Plant-people relationships
- Publications
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Books
- Environmental Horticulture: Science and Management of Green Landscapes. Croydon: Cabi.
Journal articles
- . Landscape and Urban Planning, 248, 105099-105099.
- . Building and Environment, 256.
- . PLOS ONE, 19(2).
- . Science of The Total Environment, 902, 166304-166304.
- . Urban Ecosystems.
- . Sustainability, 15(2).
- . Acta Horticulturae(1374), 155-164.
- . Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 80.
- . Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 79.
- . International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 36(12), 2549-2562.
- . Nature-Based Solutions, 2.
- . Architectural Research Quarterly, 25(4), 292-303.
- . Environmental Pollution, 288.
- . Frontiers in Psychology, 12.
- . Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9.
- . Scientific Reports, 11.
- . Cities, 112.
- . Leisure Sciences.
- . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5).
- . Environmental Health Perspectives, 128(11).
- . Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
- . Landscape and Urban Planning, 205.
- . The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology.
- . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10).
- . Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 48.
- . Landscape and Urban Planning, 194.
- . Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.
- . Urban Ecosystems.
- . Challenges, 10(2), 37-37.
- . Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 44.
- . Urban Ecosystems, 1-14.
- . Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture, 4, 33-41.
- . Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 39, 45-54.
- . Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture, 2018(3), 23-33.
- . Acta Horticulturae, 1189, 209-216.
- . Journal of Arid Environments, 147, 40-53.
- . Energy and Buildings, 141, 56-68.
- . Annals of Botany, 118(3), 377-391.
- Student Project: Assessing the effects of drought and temperature on the establishment of Juniperus seravschanica saplings in northern Oman. Sibbaldia: the Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture, 14, 37-53.
- . Australian Journal of Botany, 64(1), 32-44.
- . Acta Horticulturae(1108), 339-344.
- . Acta Horticulturae(1108), 353-359.
- . Acta Horticulturae(1108), 213-220.
- . Building and Environment, 92, 111-121.
- . Scientia Horticulturae, 175, 236-242.
- . Building and Environment, 73, 198-207.
- Flooding tolerance in four 'Garrigue' landscape plants: Implications for their future use in the urban landscapes of north-west Europe?. Landscape and Urban Planning.
- . Building and Environment.
- The domestic garden - Its contribution to urban green infrastructure. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening.
- . Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 11(2), 129-137.
- . Scientia Horticulturae, 124(2), 231-238.
- Sub-irrigation of Petunia: benefits in dry summers. Acta Horticulturae, 881, 457-462.
- Ornamental Mediterranean plants in the UK: Root adaptations to hypoxia and anoxia.. Acta Horticulturae, 881, 469-474.
- Chill unit models for blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) cultivars 鈥楤en Gairn鈥, 鈥楤en Hope鈥 and 鈥楤en Tirran鈥.. Scientia Horticulturae, 122, 654-657.
- Water deficits promote flowering in Rhododendron via regulation of pre and post initiation development.. Scientia Horticulturae, 120, 511-517.
- Growth and flowering of Petunia and Impatiens: Effects of competition and reduced water content within a container.. Hortscience, 44, 1302-1307.
- Regulated irrigation of woody ornamentals to improve plant quality and precondition against drought stress.. Annals of Applied Biology, 153, 49-61.
- Shoot dieback in clipped young Golden Leyland (Cupressocyparis leylandii) trees - a physiological mechanism?. Arboricultural Journal, 31, 109-122.
- . Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 82(4), 521-528.
- . Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 81(3), 435-443.
- . Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 80(2), 245-253.
- . Arboricultural Journal, 1-13.
- . Cities & Health, 1-16.
- . Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 3.
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- Relating Plant Hydraulics and Traits in the Context of Climatic Niche.
Chapters
- , The Urban Book Series (pp. 285-299). Springer International Publishing
- , Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences (pp. 228-235). Elsevier
- , Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences (pp. 186-192). Elsevier
- Health, well-being and socio-cultural benefits In Ingram DS, Vince-Prue D & Gregory P (Ed.), Science and the Garden: The Scientific Basis of Horticultural Practice, 3rd Edition
392 pages
December 2015, Wiley-Blackwell Wiley.
- , Horticulture: Plants for People and Places, Volume 2: Environmental Horticulture (pp. 763-786).
- , Horticulture: Plants for People and Places, Volume 3: Social Horticulture (pp. 1001-1023).
- , Horticulture: Plants for People and Places, Volume 2 (pp. 763-786). Springer Netherlands
- , Horticulture: Plants for People and Places, Volume 3 (pp. 1001-1023). Springer Netherlands
Conference proceedings papers
- Improving the functionality of the 鈥渟ponge鈥 鈥 Does plant choice matter?. SUDSnet International Conference. Coventry, UK, 30 August 2018 - 31 August 2018.
- Evapo-transpiration traits of ground cover landscape plants that aid stormwater management in urban areas. World Green Infrastructure Congress, 4 June 2018 - 6 June 2018.
- Rainfall interception and retention by different vegetation covers under simulated rainfall. Proceedings of Green Infrastructure: Nature Based Solutions for Sustainable and Resilient Cities, 4 April 2017 - 7 April 2017.
- . Acta Horticulturae, Vol. 630 (pp 305-312)
Preprints
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- , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
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- , MDPI AG.
- , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Environmental Horticulture: Science and Management of Green Landscapes. Croydon: Cabi.
- Research group
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Designed Ecology
- Teaching interests
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- Director of Research
- Director 鈥 Centre for Urban Biodiversity, University of Reading - 2008 onwards
- Director 鈥 Student Career Development
- Deputy Director 鈥 Centre for Horticulture and Landscape - 2002 onwards
- Admission Tutor - B.Sc. Biological Sciences 2006-2010
- External Examiner 鈥 University of Greenwich 2008
- Teaching activities
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- LSC 235 Landscape Ecology - Habitat Survey Techniques
- LSC 335 Landscape Ecology - Habitat Creation and Restoration
- LSC 5210 Habitat Management
- LSC 6008 Greenspace Maintenance
- LSC 6023 Research Methods in Landscape
- LSC 6024 Contemporary Issues in Landscape Research
- LSC 6150 Appreciation of Landscape
- Professional activities and memberships
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Memberships
Academic Member of the (Royal Chartered Body for Landscape Architects in the United Kingdom).
Invited scientific 鈥榓dvisor鈥 to:- The Agriculture and Horticultural Development Council. (Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture Panel)
- The Royal Horticultural Society.
- The 鈥楶lant for Life鈥 and 鈥楪reening the UK鈥 initiatives.
- Thrive (UK鈥檚 largest Horticultural Therapy Charity). 2003-2011
Extra Mural and Professional Activities
My professional activities are focused around climate change adaptation and more efficient use of resources, with advice being sought by Government and Industry.
For example, my work with the 鈥楪reening the UK鈥 initiative has informed DEFRA鈥檚 latest white paper and policy formation in general. In addition, I have had direct engagement with 3 different UK Secretaries of State in the last 2 years and 4 invitations to attend parliamentary committees.
My contribution to impact extends to numerous media appearances and broadcasts, including national radio and television. I have also won a number of awards for my teaching and contributions to enhancing student employability.
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