Prof Rob Wilson
Head of School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Professor
- Phone
- +44 (0)1334 46 3914
- rjsw@st-andrews.ac.uk
Ìý
Research areas
I am a tree-ring scientist – a so-called Dendrochronologist. My main research focusses on late Holocene palaeoclimatology (the Common Era) with specific emphasis on the use of tree-ring archives to understand the drivers of climate and environmental change. I have been involved in local/regional studies in Europe, North/South America as well as Australasia and have led initiatives to understand large scale climate change at Hemispheric scales.
The extreme nature of our current climate state has led me to explore the impact of such changes on forest ecosystems. There are precious few locations in the world where climate change does not have a significant impact of woodland systems. These environmental changes not only impact our assumptions of a stable tree-growth response to climate – so important for basic principles in palaeoclimatology – but also the very health of these systems. Woodlands are the lungs of our planet, and we need to better understand how they may, or may not, adapt to the climate changes of the coming decades.
"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world." - John Muir.
PhD supervision
- KayleighÌýLetherbarrow
- FrederikÌýMärker
Selected publications
-
Open access
Mifsud, D. V., Mills, C. M., Crone, A., Abernethy, R., Reid, E. & Wilson, R., 1 Aug 2026, In: Dendrochronologia. 98, 10 p., 126545.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Kunz, M., Torbenson, M. C. A., Reinig, F., Martinez del Castillo, E., Büntgen, U., Wilson, R., Homfeld, I. K., King, G., Reid, E., Anchukaitis, K. J., Trouet, V., King, K. E., Harley, G. L., Maxwell, J. T., Csank, A., Broadman, E., Kuhl, E., Edwards, J., Römer, P. & Günther, B. & 2 others, , May 2026, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 131, 5, p. 1-18 18 p., e2026JG009783.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Wilson, R., 1 Apr 2026, In: Dendrochronologia. 96, 13 p., 126485.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Mauro, B., Stefani, I., Büntgen, U., Carrer, M., Cherubini, P., Čufar, K., Grabner, M., Guibal, F., La Porta, N., Martinelli, N., Pignatelli, O., Pfeifer, K., Seim, A., Tegel, W., Topham, J. C., Wilson, R. & Franceschi, P., 4 Feb 2026, In: Dendrochronologia. 95, 7 p., 126480.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Homfeld, I. K., Reinig, F., del Castillo, E. M., Torbenson, M. C. A., Konter, O., Wilson, R., Krusic, P. J., Loader, N. J., Grudd, H., Reid, E., Letherbarrow, K. & Esper, J., 1 Oct 2025, In: Trees: Structure and Function. 39, 5, 12 p., 101.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Reid, E., Luckman, B., Kunz, M., Esper, J., D'Arrigo, R., Leland, C. & Wilson, R., 20 Oct 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: The Holocene. OnlineFirst, 12 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Kunz, M., Wilson, R., Reid, E., Kuhl, E. & Esper, J., 1 Dec 2025, In: Dendrochronologia. 94, 12 p., 126399.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Jiang, Y., Begović, K., Lexa, M., Nogueira, J., von Arx, G., Tumajer, J., Kaczka, R., Oulehle, F., Korolyova, N., Björklund, J., Seftigen, K., Treml, V., Wilson, R. & Rydval, M., 15 Sept 2025, In: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 372, 14 p., 110725.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Zheng, Y., Wilson, R., Wang, M. & Reid, E., 1 Dec 2025, In: Dendrochronologia. 94, 11 p., 126420.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Björklund, J., Seftigen, K., Kaczka, R. J., Rydval, M. & Wilson, R., Jun 2024, In: Dendrochronologia. 85, 6 p., 126200.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Ìý