Dr Ian Lawson
Senior Lecturer
Teaching
I convene GG1001 "Welcome to the Anthropocene", GG4245 "Biogeography and the Earth System", and SD5031 "Contemporary Environmental Issues". I am particularly enthusiastic about field and lab teaching, including teaching research and quantitative data analysis methods, and I frequently co-lead residential field classes. I also contribute to various modules at Sub-Honours and Masters level and supervise dissertations.
Research areas
I am a Senior Lecturer in physical geography and co-director of the St Andrews Centre for Critical Sustainabilities.
My PhD training was in Quaternary science - studying the geological history of the most recent part of the geological record, the last ~2.6 million years, which encompasses the dramatic climatic changes of the Ice Ages and the rise of humans as an agent of change on the planet. I was trained in pollen analysis and related palaeoenvironmental techniques and have a publication record in environmental change and human-environment interactions in ecosystems ranging from the sub-arctic to the tropics.
Much of my work concerns questions of environmental management and long-term sustainability of socio-ecological systems, and has contributed to policy-making and other impact agendas around sustainable development. I also have a track record of expertise in the development and functioning of tropical peatlands, including their palaeoecology and geochemistry; quantitative regional-scale synthesis and analysis of environmental data; and long-term (Holocene and older) perspectives on environmental change and human impacts.
PhD supervision
- Mugdha Chimote
- Brian Kipruto
- Innes Manders
- Alasdair Worrell
Selected publications
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Open access
Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland consultation: response 80430309
Helmcke, C., Hooker, S., Roney-Dougal, C., Skrzypek, E., Reid, L., Wishart, L. J., Russell, S., High, M., Lawson, I., Cole, L., Hope, J., Sfrappini, E., Christie, E., Paul, F., Mallows, C., Auxtova, K., Twist, B. & Gregnanin, G., Mar 2026, 5 p. Online : Scottish Government.Research output: Other contribution
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Open access
Holocene development and climatic sensitivity of an Amazonian peatland pole forest: Nueva York, Peru
Åkesson, C. M., Roucoux, K. H., Boom, A., Dargie, G. C., del Aguila-Pasquel, J., Flores, G., Gulliver, P., Hiles, W., Baker, T. R., Draper, F. C., Hastie, A., Honorio Coronado, E. N., Kelly, T. J., Mitchard, E. T. A., Sassoon, D., Williams, M. & Lawson, I. T., 1 Nov 2026, In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 701, p. 1-14 14 p., 114162.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Holocene patterns of peat accumulation in Peruvian Amazonia
Lawson, I., Åkesson, C., Dargie, G. C., del Aguila Pasquel, J., Draper, F. C., Hastie, A., Kelly, T. J., Sassoon, D., Abraham, V., Baker, T. R., Fabel, D., Gulliver, P., Honorio Coronado, E. & Roucoux, K., 15 Mar 2026, In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 686, 113579.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Inclusive and sustainable futures for Scotland: project report
Helmcke, C., Christie, E., Twist, B., Mallows, C., Roney-Dougal, C., Sfrappini, E., Skrzypek, E., Paul, F., Gregnanin, G., Joubert, G., Lawson, I., Hope, J., Auxtova, K., Reid, L., Wishart, L. J., Cole, L. E. S., High, M., Conlan, P. J., Hooker, S. & Russell, S., 27 Mar 2026, Online: University of St Andrews. 11 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Open access
Scotland's draft Climate Change Plan consultation: response 132315980
Helmcke, C., Hooker, S., Roney-Dougal, C., Skrzypek, E., Reid, L., Wishart, L. J., Russell, S., High, M., Lawson, I., Cole, L. E. S., Hope, J., Sfrappini, E., Christie, E., Paul, F., Auxtova , K., Gregnanin, G., Twist, B. & Mallows, C., Mar 2026, 8 p. Online : Scottish Government.Research output: Other contribution
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Open access
State of the world: inclusive & sustainable futures
Christie, E., Helmcke, C., Twist, B., Mallows, C., Roney-Dougal, C., Sfrappini, E., Skrzypek, E., Paul, F., Gregnanin, G., Joubert, G., Lawson, I., Hope, J., Auxtova, K., Reid, L., Wishart, L., Cole, L., High, M., Conlan, P., Hooker, S. & Russell, S., 13 Aug 2026, Online: Scottish Council on Global Affairs. (State of the world)Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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A new tephrochronological record of a raised bog in eastern lowland Scotland
Wang, L., Roucoux, K. H., Davies, A. L., Zhang, S., Sun, C., Streeter, R. T., Hutchison, W. & Lawson, I. T., 1 Feb 2025, In: Quaternary Geochronology. 86, 15 p., 101647.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia
Honorio Coronado, E. N., Rios, J. G., Pasquel, J. D. Á., Llampazo, G. F., Oroche, C. C., Huaymacari, J. R., Pizango, G. H., Alvarado, L. F., Murayari, U. P., Reátegui, G. I., Álvarez, C. L., Aleman, E. L., Isasi-Catala, E., Gutierrez-Sotelo, J., Draper, F., Villacorta, M. D. A., Baker, T., Torres, D. D. C., Gamarra, K. D. L. C. & Guerra, D. E. & 5 others, , 6 Mar 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: People and Nature. Early View, p. 1-16 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Timing of peat initiation across the central Congo Basin
Dargie, G. C., Gulliver, P., Lawson, I., Morris, P. J., Crezee, B., Bola, P., Emba, O., Girkin, N. T., Kanyama, J., Biddulph, G. E., Hawthorne, D., Boukono, D. R. V., Louvouandou, L. F., Milandou Matoko, J. P., Milongo, B., Kibongui, G. J., Schefuβ, E., Garcin, Y., Bocko, Y. E. & Young, D. & 12 others, , 1 Aug 2025, In: Environmental Research Letters. 20, 8, 16 p., 084080.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Two contrasting swamp forest succession pathways in central Congo Basin peatlands
Hawthorne, D., Lawson, I. T., Dargie, G. C., Girkin, N. T., Crezee, B., Hiles, W., Biddulph, G. E., Bocko, Y. E., Boom, A., Ewango, C. E. N., Garcin, Y., Gulliver, P., Ifo, S. A., Kanayama, J. T., Kiahtipes, C. A., Page, S. E., Roucoux, K. H., Morris, P. J., Schefuß, E. & Lewis, S. L., 1 Dec 2025, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 369, 13 p., 109637.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review