Thom Adams

Engagement Co-ordinator Science Faculty Office

• thom.adams@vuw.ac.nz
• 04 463 4768
• Room 155, Cotton Bldg Gate 6 Kelburn Pde

Courses

Teaching in 2016

• HIST 423 A Topic in Historiography and Historical Method 2: Film and History
  as Course Coordinator and Lecturer
• HIST 235 Special Topic: Mobilising the Masses: Propaganda in Europe in the Age of Catastrophe, 1914-1945
  as Course Coordinator and Lecturer
• HIST 118 Making Europe Modern: Citizens, States and Nations
  as Course Coordinator and Lecturer

Research

My research focuses on plant-microbial interactions and in particular their responses to land use and climate change. My goal is to develop our understanding of how species interactions determine the trajectories of ecosystems to different stable states in order that society can better address questions like: What species can and will thrive under increased anthropogenic pressures? How should we target our efforts to best save species and restore ecosystems? What attributes or functions of biological systems preserve the ecosystems services upon which human societies depend most?

I use a variety of methodologies including molecular technologies, metagenomics, isotope techniques and biochemical analyses to elucidate relationships among species and their roles in driving ecosystem processes. Current projects include the following topics: restoration ecology, network modelling, mycorrhizal fungi of native New Zealand plants, microbial ecology and nutrient cycling of native and managed ecosystems.

Research interests

• Plant and community ecology
• Plant-microbial interactions (fungi and bacteria)
• Plant ecophysiology
• Biogeochemistry
• Soil biodiversity
• Restoration ecology
• Global change biology