Dr Kelly Hemmings (Dr Kelly Swallow) | Royal Agricultural University

Biography

Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Agro-ecosystems.

Research supervision:

Amy Rowe. MScR. The effect of Earthworm Casts on Germination Rates of Agricultural Plant Species. Ongoing.
Helen King. MScR. Pollinator-plant interactions in semi-natural species-rich grassland compared to agrienvironmental wildflower strips. Completed 2022

Lecturer and course manager for geography and environmental science, Cirencester College

Woodland vegetation ecology, specifically the plant communities of ancient semi-natural woodland, replanted ancient woodland and recent woodland.
Arable wildflower spatial distribution, and reintroduction of threatened arable plants - Red Hemp-nettle Galeopsis angustifolia and Spreading Hedge-parsley Torilis arvensis.
Nectar resource and floral abundance of plant communities under different management or habitat types, including no-mow amenity grassland, species rich grassland, and agri-environment mixes.
Plant life traits and community composition in woodland, arable habitats, and grasslands.

Peer-reviewed publications

Hemmings, K. (in press). Ancient woodland indicator species: can old herbarium specimens supplement recent records to inform ecological management? Webbia: Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography
Hemmings, K. Elton, R., & Grange, I. (2022). No‐mow amenity grassland case study: Phenology of floral abundance and nectar resource. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3(4), e12179. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12179
Swallow, K. A., Wood, M. J., & Goodenough, A. E. (2020). Relative contribution of ancient woodland indicator and non‐indicator species to herb layer distinctiveness in ancient semi‐natural, ancient replanted, and recent woodland. Applied Vegetation Science. 23 (4), 471-481 https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12501
Grange, I.D. and Swallow, K. (2018). Bracken control in the first year is as good as it gets! Aspects of Applied Biology, 139: 67-73. Available from: https://rau.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/16088/1/AAB_Grange__Swallow_2018.pdf
Swallow, K. A., & Goodenough, A. E. (2017). Double-edged effect? Impact of dual edge proximity on the distribution of ancient woodland indicator plant species in a fragmented habitat. Community Ecology, 18(1), 31-36 https://doi.org/10.1556/168.2017.18.1.4

Conferences

Hemmings, K., Shellswell, C., & Grange, I. (2021) Agricultural management educational & training resources. Back from the Brink Innovations conference 6-8 July 2021, online.
Swallow, K., Wood, M., & Goodenough, A. (2019) Relative contribution of ancient woodland indicator and non-indicator species to herb layer distinctiveness in ancient semi-natural, ancient replanted, and recent woodland. New Phytologist Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 4-6 Sep.
Swallow, K., Wood, M., & Goodenough, A. (2018). Ancient woodland indicator communities in ancient replanted woodland: a shadow plant community? European Wood Pastures. Sheffield, 15 Sep
Swallow, K. (2015) Biodiversity value of ancient woodland flora: not quite as it seems. British Ecological Society Annual Meeting. Edinburgh. 13-16 December.

Education resources

Hemmings, K. Shellswell, C. & Grange, I. (2020). Arable plant education materials for HE and FE, in collaboration with Plantlife as part of the ‘Colour in the Margins’ Back from the Brink project. Available to download from: https://naturebftb.co.uk/the-projects/colour-in-the-margins/
Hemmings, K. Shellswell, C. & Grange, I. (2021). Species-rich grassland education materials for HE and FE, in collaboration with RSBP and Plantlife as part of the ‘Limestone’s Living Legacies’ Back from the Brink project. Available to download from: https://naturebftb.co.uk/the-projects/limestones-living-legacies/

Other

Bertrand, S. Grange, I., Shellswell, C., & Hemmings, K. (2021). Arable flora and crop yield: are biodiversity and food production compatible outcomes? Proceedings of the Cotteswold Naturalists’ Field Club, XLVIII (III)
Swallow, K. (2017) Use of a visualiser and multiple screens in a digital classroom. In Peberdy, D. Creating the digital campus: alive learning spaces and technology. pp 117-120. ISBN 9780992790325