Staff Profile

I am a land systems scientists that uses socio-ecological method frameworks and concepts to understand and manage biodiversity, conservation and ecosystem restoration challenges. I work with remote sensing data (mostly acquired by sensors on satellites), biodiversity data, habitat quality data and data on human well-being with the aim to monitor natural capital and biodiversity. I head the TROPical landScapes (TROPS) lab that does extensive fieldwork in the tropics, with sites in Tanzania, Brazil, South Africa, Peru, Gabon, Brunei Darussalam, and Sarawak. We work collaboratively to find solutions that maximise positive well-being and biodiversity / ecological health outcomes. Our research is at local scale, as this is the scale at which landscape decisions are made. But we implement our research in a global scale context.

Key research outcomes:

• developing and using novel method approaches (https://github.com/VeroL/BioFrag) to demonstrate the pervasive impact of habitat loss and habitat edges on vertebrates, globally (published in Nature, Science and Ecology Letters. Our animation video captures key aspects of the research published in Nature https://youtu.be/KadMixPj8O0. 
• remotely sensing habitat quality indicators that link to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (e.g. https://globallai.wordpress.com/) and can be used for conservation planning (published in Journal of Applied Ecology, Remote Sensing of Environment, Peerj, Agriculture and Forest Meteorology)
• methods and targets for implementing forest restoration (e.g. http://force-experiment.com/, http://reforestafrica.com/) and managing socio-ecological resilience (e.g. https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/agrisystanzania/project-team/) at landscape scale 

If you want to follow our latest research, you can follow us on twitter: @marion_pfeifer.

Current key projects: for details see TROPS lab webpages

• Agrisys Tanzania. (BBSRC funded, 2019-2021). PI on project. is using the framework of coupled human- and natural systems to quantify natural capital in tropical agroforestry landscapes accounting for trade-offs between services and disservices
• CORRESTOR (Funded through Science for People and Nature Partnership). PI on project. Wildlife Corridor Restoration - Evidence needs
• Agroforestry Northumberland. Natural England funded Participatory Research. PI on project. Opportunities and Constraints for tree planting on farms in Northumberland. NERC Treescapes Project Agroforestry Futures. Co-I on project.
• Human:wildlife interactions: mitigation & management. Lions in the matrix: room to roam (funded through IAPETUS, NERC. Completed). Elephant - Crop conflict in Tanzania (co-funded through Agrisys Tanzania and CORRESTOR). 
• Mammal responses to infrastructure expansion in tropical forested landscapes
• Climate and disturbance dependencies of tropical forest canopies

Degree Programme Director - MRes Ecology (SNES, Newcastle University). Perhaps not the best name for it, as we are running this degree to prepare students for a career (in leadership roles) in environmental /natural/biodiversity/conservation sciences.

MSc / MRes and UG project supervision. For details see TROPS lab webpages. You can join our TROPS lab as UG for your final dissertation or as MRes student. Contact me to enquire about opportunities for PhDs and postdocs. I will be happy to provide support for developing independent applications. If you want to know more about the lab and how we do research in an inclusive environment: drop an email to one of the PhD candidates and they will be happy to chat (given availability: we do fieldwork after all).

I am course leader for:

• Dynamics of Coupled Human and Natural Systems (BIO8072). MSc. 20 credits.
• The Africa Field course (BIO3047). BSc. currently restructured for 20 credits.10 days conservation sciences field course in South Africa.

I contribute to

• Biodiversity Science and Policy (BIO3039). BSc. 20 credits.

After developing conservation and biodiversity content for Stage 2 BIO2028 and passive remote sensing content for MSc course ArcGIS and Remote Sensing, I have passed on both to colleagues in 2019 and 2023.

• Articles

  • Calders K, Brede B, Newnham G, Culvenor D, Armston J, Bartholomeus H, Griebel A, Hayward J, Junttila S, Lau A, Levick S, Morrone R, Origo N, Pfeifer M, Verbesselt J, Herold M. StrucNet: a global network for automated vegetation structure monitoring. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation 2023, 9(5), 587-598.
  • Loveridge R, Marshall AR, Pfeifer M, Rushton S, Nnyiti PP, Fredy L, Sallu SM. Pathways to win-wins or trade-offs? How certified community forests impact forest restoration and human wellbeing. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 2023, 378(1867), 20210080.
  • Löfqvist S, Kleinschroth F, Bey A, Bremond A, DeFries R, Dong J, Fleischman F, Lele S, Martin DA, Messerli P, Meyfroidt P, Pfeifer M, Rakotonarivo SO, Ramankutty N, Ramprasad V, Rana R, Rhemtulla JM, Ryan CM, Vieira ICG, Wells GJ, Garrett RD. How Social Considerations Improve the Equity and Effectiveness of Ecosystem Restoration. BioScience 2023, 73(2), 134–148.
  • Marshall AR, Waite CE, Pfeifer M, Banin LF, Rakotonarivo S, Chomba S, Herbohn J, Gilmour DA, Brown M, Chazdon RL. Fifteen essential science advances needed for effective restoration of the world's forest landscapes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 2023, 378(1867), 20210065.
  • Pfeifer M, Sallu S, Marshall A, Rushton S, Moore E, Shirima DD, Smit J, Kioko E, Barnes L, Waite C, Raes L, Braunholtz L, Olivier PI, Ishengoma E, Bowers S, Guerreiro Milheiras S. A systems approach framework for evaluating tree restoration interventions for social and ecological outcomes in rural tropical landscapes. Philosophical Transactions Royal Society B 2023, 378, 20210111.
  • Wills AR, Shirima DD, Villemaire-Cote O, Platts PJ, Knight SJ, Loveridge R, Seki H, Waite CE, Munishi PKT, Lyatuu H, Bernal B, Pfeifer M, Marshall AR. A practice-led assessment of landscape restoration potential in a biodiversity hotspot. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 2023, 378(1867), 20210070.
  • Fleischman F, Coleman E, Fischer H, Kashwan P, Pfeifer M, Ramprasad V, Rodriguez Solorzano C, Veldman JW. Restoration prioritization must be informed by marginalized people. Nature 2022, 607, E5-E6.
  • da Silva DA, Pfeifer M, Vibrans AC. Conspecific density plays a pivotal role in shaping sapling community in highly fragmented subtropical forests. Austral Ecology 2022, 47(8), 1609-1621.
  • Sargent R, Sarobidy Rakotonarivo O, Rushton SP, Cascio B, Grau A, Bell AR, Bunnefeld N, Dickman A, Pfeifer M. An experimental game to examine pastoralists' preferences for human–lion coexistence strategies. People and Nature 2022, Epub ahead of print.
  • Bowler E, Lefebvre V, Pfeifer M, Ewers RM. Optimising sampling designs for habitat fragmentation studies. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 2021, 13(1), 217-229.
  • Boyle MJW, Bishop TR, Luke SH, van Breugel M, Evans TA, Pfeifer M, Fayle TM, Hardwick SR, Lane-Shaw RI, Yusah KM, Ashford ICR, Ashford OS, Garnett E, Turner EC, Wilkinson CL, Chung AYC, Ewers RM. Localised climate change defines ant communities in human-modified tropical landscapes. Functional Ecology 2021, 35(5), 1094-1108.
  • Loveridge R, Sallu SM, Pfeifer M, Oldekop JA, Mgaya M, da Silva DA, Latham J, Platts PJ, Marshall AR. Certified community forests positively impact human wellbeing and conservation effectiveness and improve the performance of nearby national protected areas. Conservation Letters 2021, 14(6), e12831.
  • Pfeifer M, Shirima D. African forest maps reveal areas vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Nature 2021, 593, 42-43.
  • Watling JI, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Pfeifer M, Baeten L, Banks-Leite C, Cisneros LM, Fang R, Hamel-Leigue AC, Lachat T, Leal IR, Lens L, Possingham HP, Raheem DC, Ribeiro DB, Slade EM, Urbina-Cardona JN, Wood EM, Fahrig L. Support for the habitat amount hypothesis from a global synthesis of species density studies. Ecology Letters 2020, 23(4), 674-681.
  • da Silva DA, Pfeifer M, Pattison Z, Vibrans AC. Drivers of leaf area index variation in Brazilian Subtropical Atlantic Forests. Forest Ecology and Management 2020, 476, 118477.
  • Marshall AR, Platts PJ, Seki H, Chazdon RL, Campbell MJ, Phillips OL, Marchant R, Liang J, Herbohn J, Malhi Y, Pfeifer M. Conceptualising the global forest response to liana proliferation. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 2020, 3, 35.
  • Pfeifer A, Boyle MJW, Dunning S, Olivier PI. Forest floor temperature and greenness link significantly to canopy attributes in South Africa’s fragmented coastal forests. PeerJ 2019, 7, e6190.
  • Betts MG, Wolf C, Pfeifer M, Banks-Leite C, Arroyo-Rodriguez V, Bandini Ribeiro D, Barlow J, Eigenbrod F, Faria D, Fletcher Jr. RJ, Hadley AS, Hawes JE, Holt RD, Klingbeil B, Kormann U, Lens L, Levi T, Medina-Rangel GF, Melles SL, Mezger D, Morante-Filho JC, Orme CDL, Peres CA, Phalan BT, Pidgeon A, Possingham H, Ripple WJ, Slade EM, Somarriba E, Tobias JA, Tylianakis JM, Urbina-Cardona JN, Valente JJ, Watling JI, Wells K, Wearn OR, Wood E, Young R, Ewers RM. Extinction filters mediate the global effects of fragmentation on animals. Science 2019, 366(6470), 1236-1239.
  • Cuni-Sanchez A, Omeny P, Pfeifer M, Olaka L, Boru M, Marchant R, Burgess N. Climate change and pastoralists: perceptions and adaptation in montane Kenya. Climate and Development 2019, 11(6), 513-524.
  • Pfeifer M, Gonsamo A, Woodgate W, Cayuela L, Marshall AR, Ledo A, Paine TCE, Marchant R, Burt A, Calders K, Courtney-Mustaphi C, Cuni-Sanchez A, Deere NJ, Denu D, de Tanago JG, Hayward R, Lau A, Macia MJ, Olivier PI, Pellikka P, Seki H, Shirima D, Trevithick R, Wedeux B, Wheeler C, Munishi PKT, Martin T, Mustari A, Platts PJ. Tropical forest canopies and their relationships with climate and disturbance: results from a global dataset of consistent field-based measurements. Forest Ecosystems 2018, 5, 7.
  • Wearn O, Carbone C, Rowcliffe J, Pfeifer M, Bernard H, Ewers R. Land-use change alters the mechanisms assembling rainforest mammal communities in Borneo. Journal of Animal Ecology 2018, 88(1), 125-137.
  • Deere NJ, Guillera-Arroita G, Baking EL, Bernard H, Pfeifer M, Reynolds G, Wearn OR, Davies ZG, Struebig MJ. High carbon stock forests provide co-benefits for tropical biodiversity. Journal of Applied Ecology 2018, 55(2), 997-1008.
  • Cuni-Sanchez A, Pfeifer M, Marchant R, Pompeu PV, Burgess ND. Harvesting fodder trees in montane forests in Kenya: species, techniques used and impacts. New Forests 2018, 49(4), 511-528.
  • Rolo V, Olivier PI, Pfeifer M, van Aarde RJ. Functional diversity mediates contrasting direct and indirect effects of fragmentation on below- and above-ground carbon stocks of coastal dune forests. Forest Ecology and Management 2018, 407, 174-183.
  • Jucker T, Asner GP, Dalponte M, Brodrick PG, Philipson CD, Vaughn NR, Arn Teh Y, Brelsford C, Burslem DFRP, Deere NJ, Ewers RM, Kvasnica J, Lewis SL, Malhi Y, Milne S, Nilus R, Pfeifer M, Phillips OL, Qie L, Renneboog N, Reynolds G, Riutta T, Struebig MJ, Svatek M, Turner EC, Coomes DA. Estimating aboveground carbon density and its uncertainty in Borneo's structurally complex tropical forests using airborne laser scanning. Biogeosciences 2018, 15(12), 3811-3830.
  • Luke SH, Barclay H, Bidin K, Khen CV, Ewers RM, Foster WA, Nainar A, Pfeifer M, Reynolds G, Turner EC, Walsh RPD, Aldridge DC. The effects of catchment and riparian forest quality on stream environmental conditions across a tropical rainforest and oil palm landscape in Malaysian Borneo. Ecohydrology 2017, 10(4), e1827.
  • Cuni-Sanchez A, Pfeifer M, Marchant R, Calders K, Sorensen CL, Pompeu PV, Lewis SL, Burgess ND. New insights on above ground biomass and forest attributes in tropical montane forests. Forest Ecology and Management 2017, 399, 235-246.
  • Wearn OR, Rowcliffe JM, Carbone C, Pfeifer M, Bernard H, Ewers RM. Mammalian species abundance across a gradient of tropical land-use intensity: A hierarchical multi-species modelling approach. Biological Conservation 2017, 212(Part A), 162-171.
  • Hadi H, Pfeifer M, Korhonen L, Wheeler C, Rautiainen M. Forest canopy structure and reflectance in humid tropical Borneo: a physically-based interpretation using spectral invariants. Remote Sensing of Environment 2017, 201, 314-330.
  • Pfeifer M, Lefebvre V, Peres CA, Banks-Leite C, Wearn OR, Marsh CJ, Butchart SHM, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Barlow J, Cerezo A, Cisneros L, D’Cruze N, Faria D, Hadley A, Harris S, Klingbeil BT, Kormann U, Lens L, Medina-Rangel GF, Morante-Filho JC, Olivier P, Peters SL, Pidgeon A, Ribeiro DB, Scherber C, Schneider-Maunory L, Struebig M, Urbina-Cardona N, Watling JI, Wood MR, Ewers RM. Creation of forest edges has a global impact on forest vertebrates. Nature 2017, 551, 187-191.
  • Pfeifer M, Kor L, Nilus R, Turner E, Cusack J, Lysenko I, Khoo M, Chey VK, Chung AC, Ewers RM. Mapping the structure of Borneo's tropical forests across a degradation gradient. Remote Sensing of Environment 2016, 176, 84-97.
  • Cuni-Sanchez A, Pfeifer M, Marchant R, Burgess ND. Ethnic and locational differences in ecosystem service values: Insights from the communities in forest islands in the desert. Ecosystem Services 2016, 19, 42-50.
  • Schneider-Maunoury L, Lefebvre V, Ewers RM, Medina-Rangel GF, Peres CA, Somarriba E, Urbina-Cardona N, Pfeifer M. Abundance signals of amphibians and reptiles indicate strong edge effects in Neotropical fragmented forest landscapes. Biological Conservation 2016, 200, 207-215.
  • Hardwick S, Toumi R, Pfeifer M, Turner EC, Nilus R, Ewers RM. The relationship between leaf area index and forest microclimate in tropical forest and oil palm plantation: Forest disturbance drives changes in mircoclimate. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 2015, 201, 187-195.
  • Ewers RM, Boyle MJW, Gleave RA, Plowman NS, Benedick S, Bernard H, Bishop TR, Bakhtiar EY, Khen Chey V, Chung AYC, Davies RG, Edwards DP, Eggleton P, Fayle TM, Hardwick SR, Homathevi R, Kitching RL, Sheng Khoo M, Luke SH, March JJ, Nilus R, Pfeifer M, Rao SV, Sharp AC, Snaddon JL, Stork NE, Struebig MJ, Wearn OR, Yusah KM, Turner EC. Logging cuts the functional importance of invertebrates in tropical rainforest. Nature Communications 2015, 6, 6836.
  • Shirima D, Pfeifer M, Platts PJ, Totland O, Moe S. Interactions between canopy structure and herbaceous biomass along environmental gradients in moist forest and dry miombo woodland of Tanzania. PLoS One 2015, 10, e0142784.
  • Martin P, Newton A, Pfeifer M, Khoo M, Bullock JM. Impacts of tropical selective logging on carbon storage and tree species richness: A meta-analysis. Forest Ecology and Management 2015, 356, 224-233.
  • Hailu BT, Maeda EE, Pellikka P, Pfeifer M. Identifying potential areas of understory coffee in Ethiopia’s highlands using predictive modelling. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2015, 36(11), 2898-2919.
  • Reyer CPO, Brouwers N, Grant RF, Brook BW, Rammig A, Epila J, Holmgren M, Langerwisch F, Leuzinger S, Lucht W, Medlyn B, Pfeifer M, Steinkamp J, Vanderwel MC, Verbeeck H, Villela DM. Forest resilience and tipping points at different spatio-temporal scales: approaches and challenges. Journal of Ecology 2015, 103(1), 5-15.
  • Pfeifer M, Lefebvre V, Turner E, Cusack J, Khoo M, Chey VK, Peni M, Ewers RM. Deadwood biomass: an underestimated carbon stock in degraded tropical forests?. Environmental Research Letters 2015, 10(4), 044019.
  • Pfeifer M, Lefebvre V, Gonsamo A, Pellikka P, Marchant R, Denu D, Platts PJ. Validating and linking the GIMMS leaf area index (LAI3g) with environmental controls in Tropical Africa. Remote Sensing 2014, 6(3), 1973-1990.
  • Pfeifer M, Lefebvre V, Gardner TA, Arroyo-Rodriguez V, Baeten L, Banks-Leite C, Barlow J, Betts MG, Brunet J, Cerezo A, Cisneros LM, Collard S, D'Cruze N, Silva-Motta Cd, Duguay S, Eggermont H, Eigenbrod F, Hadley AS, Hanson TR, Hawes JE, Heartsill-Scalley T, Klingbeil BT, Kolb A, Kormann U, Kumar S, Lachat T, Lakeman-Fraser P, Lantschner V, Laurance WF, Leal IR, Lens L, Marsh CJ, Medina-Rangel GF, Melles S, Mezger D, Oldekop JA, Overal WL, Owen C, Peres CA, Phalan B, Pidgeon AM, Pilia O, Possingham HP, Possingham ML, Raheem DC, Ribeiro DB, Ribeiro-Neto JD, Robinson WD, Robinson R, Rytwinski T, Scherber C, Slade EM, Somarriba E, Stouffer PC, Struebig MJ, Tylianakis JM, Tscharntke T, Tyre AJ, Urbina-Cardona JN, Vasconcelos HL, Wearn O, Wells K, Willig MR, Wood E, Young RP, Bradley AV, Ewers RM. BIOFRAG – a new database for analyzing BIOdiversity responses to forest FRAGmentation. Ecology and Evolution 2014, 4(9), 1524-1537.
  • Packer C, Swanson A, Canney S, Loveridge A, Garnett S, Pfeifer M, Burton AC, Bauer H, MacNulty D. The case for fencing remains intact. Ecology Letters 2013, 16(11), 1414-e4.
  • Burgess ND, Mwakalila S, Munishi P, Pfeifer M. REDD herrings or REDD menace: Response to Beymer-Farris and Bassett. Global Environ Change 2013, 23, 1349-1354.
  • Pfeifer M, Platts PJ, Burgess N, Swetnam R, Willock S, Marchant R. Land use change and carbon fluxes in East Africa quantified using earth observation data and field measurements. Environ Conserv 2013, 40, 241-252.
  • Packer C, Pfeifer M. Conserving Large Carnivores: Dollars and Fence. Ecol Letters 2013, 16, 635-641.
  • Pfeifer M, Burgess ND, Swetnam RD, Platts PJ, Willcock S, Marchant R. Protected Areas: Mixed Success in Conserving East Africa’s Evergreen Forests. PLOS ONE 7 2012, e39337. In Preparation.
  • Pfeifer M, Gonsamo A, Disney M, Pellikka P, Marchant R. Leaf area index for biomes of the Eastern Arc Mountains: Landsat and SPOT observations along precipitation and altitude gradients. Remote Sens Environ 2012, 118, 103-115.
  • Burgess N, Munishi P, Mwakalila S, Pfeifer M, Willcock S, Shirima D, Hamidu S, Bulenga GG, Marchant R. Enhancing Tanzanian Capacity to Deliver Short and Long Term Data on Forest Carbon Stocks across the Country. The Arc Journal 2012, 27, 22-26.
  • Pfeifer M, Disney M, Quaife T, Marchant R. Terrestrial Ecosystems from space: a review of earth observation products for macroecology applications. Global Ecol Biogeogr 2011, 21, 603-624.
  • Disney M, Kalogirou V, Lewis P, Prieto-Blanco A, Hancock S, Pfeifer M. Simulating the impact of discret-return lidar system and survey characteristics over young conifer and broadleaf forests. Remote Sens Environ 2010, 114, 1546-1560.
  • Pfeifer M, Passalacqua NG, Bartram S, Schatz B, Carey P, Jeltsch F. Conservation priorities differ at opposing species borders of an European orchid. Biol Conserv 2010, 143, 2207-2220.
  • Pfeifer M, Schatz B, Pico X, Passalacqua NG, Fay MF, Carey PD, Jeltsch F. Phylogeography and genetic structure of the orchid Himantoglossum hircinum (L.) Spreng. across its European central-marginal gradient. J Biogeogr 2009, 36, 2353-2365.
  • Pfeifer M, Disney M, Lewis P. Simulating Canopy Gap Fraction of Complex Forest scenes of Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce). Intl. Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences 2007, XXXVI, P63, pp. 6.
  • Pfeifer M, Wiegand K, Heinrich W, Jetschke G. Long-term demographic fluctuations in an orchid species driven by weather: implications for conservation planning. J Appl Ecol 2006, 43, 313-324.
  • Pfeifer M, Jetschke G. Influence of geographical isolation on genetic diversity of Himantoglossum hircinum (Orchidaceae). Folia Geobot 2006, 41, 3-20.
  • Pfeifer M, Heinrich W, Jetschke G. Climate, size and flowering history determine flowering pattern of an orchid. Bot J of Linn Soc 2006, 151, 511-526. In Preparation.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

  • Hurskainen P, Hemp A, Pellikka PKE, Pfeifer M. Land cover change impacts on biodiversity in Mt Kilimanjaro Savanna Zone. In: 36th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment. 2015, Berlin, Germany: ISRSE Proceedings.

• Letters

  • Sandbrook C, Albury-Smith S, Allan JR, Bhola N, Bingham HC, Brockington D, Byaruhanga AB, Fajardo J, Fitzsimons J, Franks P, Fleischman F, Frechette A, Kakuyo K, Kaptoyo E, Kuemmerle T, Kalunda PN, Nuvunga M, O'Donnell B, Onyai F, Pfeifer M, Pritchard R, Ramos A, Rao M, Ryan CM, Shyamsundar P, Tauli J, Tumusiime DM, Vilaca M, Watmough GR, Worsdell T, Zaehringer JG. Social considerations are crucial to success in implementing the 30×30 global conservation target. Nature Ecology and Evolution 2023.
  • Pfeifer M, Packer C, Burton AC, Garnett ST, Loveridge AJ, MacNulty D, Platts PJ. In defense of fences. Science 2014, 345(6195), 389-389.

• Review

  • Sargent R, Deere NJ, McGowan PJK, Bunnefeld N, Pfeifer M. Room to roam for African lions Panthera leo: a review of the key drivers of lion habitat use and implications for conservation. Mammal Review 2022, 52(1), 39-51.