The University of Sheffield
Department of Geography

Dr Helen Moggridge

Lecturer in Fluvial Geomorphology and Hydroecology

Helen Moggridge

Room number: E8
Telephone (internal): 27939
Telephone (UK): 0114 222 7939
Telephone (International): +44 114 222 7939
Email: H.L.Moggridge@Sheffield.ac.uk

Helen Moggridge received her BSc in Geography (First Class) from the University of Birmingham (2002) and her MSc in Conservation at University College London (2003). She then completed her PhD in the Department of Geography at King's College London (2007), where she subsequently worked at a lecturer in physical geography. In August 2009, Helen moved to Natural England, where she worked in freshwater biodiversity conservation. She took up a lectureship in the Catchment Science Centre at the University of Sheffield in August 2010.

Helen is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and is a member of the executive committee of the Biogeography Research Group. She is also a member of the Rivers and Wetlands Biodiversity Integration Group.

Research Interests
  • Interactions between geomorphology, hydrology and ecology in rivers
  • River and wetland assessment, management and restoration
  • Impacts of climate change on these processes and the ecosystem services that they provide

Current research

Propagule dispersal and establishment
I am very interested in hydrological and geomorphological controls on propagule dispersal in rivers and the importance of this for riparian vegetation communities. I have researched this in English chalk streams and am interested in understanding these processes in wetlands and applying these principles to habitat restoration.

The active role of vegetation
My PhD research into ecosystem engineering showed reciprocal feedbacks between riparian tree establishment and fluvial processes and I continue to work in this area. Most recently, I have been involved in modelling riparian tree seedling deformation during inundation and I am continuing research in this area.

Freshwater ecosystem service valuation
I am very interested in identifying and valuing the ecosystem services that rivers and wetlands deliver to society and using this approach to conserve and restore them. I began this work in the developing world, exploring the impact of development and climate change on ecosystem services. More recently, I have been exploring the application of this approach to urban river restoration in the UK.

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching
My research is at the interface of several disciplines and I convey this approach in my teaching, encouraging students to think in a multi- and inter-disciplinary context. At undergraduate level, I teach a range of modules which explore physical and ecological processes, their interaction and response to environmental change. I encourage students to apply their understanding of these processes to conserve, manage and restore the environment; drawing upon my experience in environmental management, I introduce students to a range of case studies and to current conservation practice, equipping students with key skills for future employment.

I recognise that students learn differently and I use a variety of teaching styles in all my courses, making them as interactive as possible. Lectures are supported with practical classes, seminars, discussion groups and student conferences.

Helen's specialist teaching on undergraduate courses includes:
GEO108 Earth's Changing Surface
GEO150 Practical Methods in Physical Geography
GEO164 Understanding and Managing Environmental Issues
APS255 Environmental Interpretation Field Course 
GEO352 Geological Hazards

All staff also engage in personal supervision and tutoring of individual students at all three levels in the following modules:
GEO163 (Information & Communication Skills for Geographers)
GEO263 or GEO264 (Research Design in Human or Physical Geography)
GEO356 (Geographical Research Project)

Masters Teaching
At postgraduate level, I teach a module on Understanding Environmental Change, which explores how humans use and change the environment and the relationship that this has to development. I also supervise projects and dissertations related to my research interests. 

Helen's specialist teaching on Masters courses includes:
GEO6807 Understanding Environmental Change

Key Publications
  • Everard, M. and Moggridge, H.L. (2011, in press). Rediscovering the value of urban rivers. Urban Ecosystems.
    doi:10.1007/s11252-011-0174-7
  • Moggridge, H.L. and Gurnell, A. (2010). Hydrological controls on the transport and deposition of plant propagules within riparian zones. River Research and Applications, 26(4), 512–527.
    doi:10.1002/rra.1273
  • Moggridge, H.L. and Gurnell, A. (2009). Controls on the sexual and asexual regeneration of Salicaceae along a highly dynamic, braided river system. Aquatic Science, 71(3), 305–317.
    doi:10.1007/s00027-009-9193-3
  • Moggridge, H.L., Gurnell, A. and Mountford, J.O. (2009). Propagule input, transport and deposition in riparian environments: the importance of connectivity for diversity. Journal of Vegetation Science, 20(3), 465–474.
    doi:10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.05498.x
  • Schnauder, I. and Moggridge, H.L. (2009). Vegetation and hydraulic-morphological interactions at the individual plant, patch and channel scale. Aquatic Science, 71(3), 318–330.
    doi:10.1007/s00027-009-9202-6