I am an interdisciplinary teacher and researcher with a focus on land and its management in rural contexts. My teaching and research focusses on the way rural land is used and managed, with forestry, agroforesty and agriculture being the main focal systems of this teaching and research activity. I am particularly interested in undertaking research to inform decision making surrounding adaptions and transformations of land use in rural areas to address critical contemporary environmental and social challenges. I engage with a range of research disciplines including decision analysis, qualitative research, economics, life-cycle assessment, ecosystem services modelling and operations research.

Email: ashley.hardaker@bangor.ac.uk

Office: Room F20, Thoday Building, Bangor University

Twitter: @hardaker_ashley

I am the course director of the BSc Conservation with Forestry programme in the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences.

I am the module organiser for:

  • ENS1031 Forestry in the 21st Century
  • ENS1300 Practical and Field Skills for Forestry and Woodland Management
  • DXX2010 Forest and Woodland Management
  • DXX3702 Management Plan

I am a module contributor on various undergraduate and postgraduate modules across the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences:

I am currently supervising two MSc by Research projects: 

  • Thomas Henderson (co-supervised with Professor John Healey) - Life cycle assessment-based modelling of Welsh Timber incorporating environmental burdens and ecosystem service impacts.
  • Chris Blake (co-supervised with Dr Neal Hockey and Dr Rhys Ap Gwilym) - The impact of community land stewardship on the delivery of public goods.

I am an interdisciplinary researcher interested in land use primarily forestry, agroforestry and agricultural systems. My research focusses on:

  1. The role of trees on farms for enhancing farm-level sustainability.
  2. The economics of timber production on farms.
  3. Ecosystem service impacts of expanding tree cover in agricultural landscapes.
  4. Farm-level financial and environmental impacts of alternative management strategies for lowland and upland peat. 
  5. Farmer and land manager decision-making in the face of uncertainty and policy change. 
  6. Integration of ecosystem services into life-cycle assessment methodologies. 

Member of the Forestry and Agriculture, food and the environment research areas within the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences.

2023

2022

2021

2020

2018

Defra LowlandPeat 3 (active until 2027) - I am a Co-Investigator on this Defra funded project which is led by Professor Chris Evans at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. This project is focussing on determining the most effective methods for mitigating GHG emissions from productive agricultural peatlands in support of the 6th Carbon Budget and Net Zero Strategy. The Bangor component of the project is exploring the impacts of business as usual and alternative management pathways for management of lowland peats on production, environmental burdens and ecosystem services. 

Natural England PEF Biochar (active until 2025)- I am a Co-Investigator on this Natural England funded project which is led by Dr Jenny Rhymes at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH). This project is exploring how to overcome the financial barriers for Paludiculture with Biochard Integration. The Bangor component of the project is exploring the financial viability and environmental burdens of different different paludictulture production systems at the farm level. 

Home-Grown Homes Project Phase 2: Scaling up farm forestry to produce timber (MSc by Research Studentships) (active until the end of 2024) - I am a Co-Investigator on this project funded by Woodknowledge Wales led by Principal Investigator Professor John Healey. The project has funded three MSc by Research studentships exploring the potential to make better use of new and existing farm woodlands for securing the future of Welsh home grown timber supplies. 

Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production (complete) - I was the lead author with contributions from Professor John Healey (Bangor University) on this Woodknowledge Wales project producing educational materials focussing on the economic aspects of woodland creation for producing timber which has produced the following six publications:

  1. Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Financial evaluation of afforestation projects - basic steps. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 1. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 11 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation
  2. Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Evaluating the financial costs of forestry. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 2. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 9 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation
  3. Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Revenue from forestry enterprises. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 3. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 8 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation
  4. Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Accounting for time. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 4. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 8 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation
  5. Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Alternative tools for financial evaluation of forestry. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 5. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 9 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation
  6. Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Incorporating uncertainty and risk into forestry financial evaluations. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 6. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 11 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation

Literature Review of Top Five Alternative Conifer Tree Species in Great Britain (complete) - I was one of two lead authors on this project managed by the Welsh Government on behalf of the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, having co-written the tender application with the Woodknowledge Wales team of Gary Newman, Tim Peters and Dainis Dauksta and Professor John Healey (Bangor University).  The final report of this project has now been published: Peters, T.D., Hardaker, A.R., Dauksta, D., Newman, G., Lellig, C., & Healey, J.R. (2021). Top Five Alternative Conifer Tree Species in Great Britain. Cardiff: Welsh Government, Government Social Research report number C160/2020/2021, 132 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/wkw-resource/forestry/top-five-alternative-conifer-tree-species-review

I orginally began training as a land agent and agricultural surveyor having gained a BSc degree in Rural Land Management from the Royal Agricultural University. I first came to Bangor in 2015 following a period working as an agricultural surveyor to pursue the MSc in Environmental Forestry. This was followed by pursuing a KESS2 funded PhD in 2017 looking at how trees can be used to enhance ecosystem service provision in the agriculturally dominated uplands of Wales.

Qualifications

PhD Agroforestry (Bangor University)

MSc Environmental Forestry (Bangor University)

BSc (Hons) Rural Land Management (Royal Agricultural University)