Research fellows and Senior Research Fellows of the Biosphere Research Institute
The Research Fellows and Senior Research Fellows of the Biosphere Research Institute represent key thinkers and facilitators of sustainability theory and practice, stretching across a broad rainbow of research areas. Each has collaborated on significant work with the Biosphere Research Institute and each represents the very best in innovative thinking and leadership. These honorary positions are designed to highlight and celebrate important young thinkers and practitioners across the fields of environmental, social and economic sustainability.
Research Fellows
Ewan Jenkins
BA (Hons), Philosophy and English Studies, University of Stirling, 2019.
MLitt, Global, Social and Political Thought, University of St. Andrews, 2021-22.
My undergraduate dissertation was in the field of epistemology, on the topic of ‘intuition.’ My thesis was inspired by observing that the word ‘intuition’ is defined and discussed differently across disciplines and throughout history. As such, no integrative work in philosophy served to unite all the seemingly distinct varieties of intuition. I attempted a synthesis. My research was interdisciplinary; I worked up from the history of philosophy and religious texts through to peer-reviewed psychology studies and analytical philosophy, settling on Goethe’s writings on Empirical Science as the basis for a unifying theory.
In my graduate studies, I aim to pursue a dissertation on the Philosophy of Identity, analysing the different technologies and techniques used to construct and sustain identity today, throughout history, across different cultures and regions. The overarching aim is to discover a route toward recovering holistic identities for Global North subjects immersed in cultures and infrastructures which promote either homogenous or reactionary identities. The substance of identity, particularly as elucidated through mystical literature across time, will be investigated, as well as the ‘politics of personality’ and its revolutionary potentials. Social formations like individualism, communalism and identities emergent from strong ecological sensibilities will likewise be assessed.
My research interests are interdisciplinary, encompassing philosophy, anthropology, social science, religion, literature and poetry, mysticism, ecofeminism and alternative history, anarchism, social ecology, mythology and the Classics.
Publications:
Skene, K.R. and Jenkins, E.G. (2021). Relational empowerment: indigenous concepts of power and empowerment as process not possession. Journal of World-Systems Research (in review).
MLitt, Global, Social and Political Thought, University of St. Andrews, 2021-22.
My undergraduate dissertation was in the field of epistemology, on the topic of ‘intuition.’ My thesis was inspired by observing that the word ‘intuition’ is defined and discussed differently across disciplines and throughout history. As such, no integrative work in philosophy served to unite all the seemingly distinct varieties of intuition. I attempted a synthesis. My research was interdisciplinary; I worked up from the history of philosophy and religious texts through to peer-reviewed psychology studies and analytical philosophy, settling on Goethe’s writings on Empirical Science as the basis for a unifying theory.
In my graduate studies, I aim to pursue a dissertation on the Philosophy of Identity, analysing the different technologies and techniques used to construct and sustain identity today, throughout history, across different cultures and regions. The overarching aim is to discover a route toward recovering holistic identities for Global North subjects immersed in cultures and infrastructures which promote either homogenous or reactionary identities. The substance of identity, particularly as elucidated through mystical literature across time, will be investigated, as well as the ‘politics of personality’ and its revolutionary potentials. Social formations like individualism, communalism and identities emergent from strong ecological sensibilities will likewise be assessed.
My research interests are interdisciplinary, encompassing philosophy, anthropology, social science, religion, literature and poetry, mysticism, ecofeminism and alternative history, anarchism, social ecology, mythology and the Classics.
Publications:
Skene, K.R. and Jenkins, E.G. (2021). Relational empowerment: indigenous concepts of power and empowerment as process not possession. Journal of World-Systems Research (in review).
Aleš Kučera
I graduated at Mendel University in Brno at the Department of Geology and Soil Science with diploma work focused on an edaphic comparison of the classification systems, Natura 2000 and the Czech Typological System of Forest Habitats in 2006 and with my doctoral thesis focused on soil specifications in an interesting forest habitat Fagetum pauper in 2011. I also studied a special supplementary course of pedagogism as a substantial part of my professional life belongs to teaching.
My teaching career started at Lipka – a school facility for environmental education, Jezírko Training Facility in Brno (Czech Rep.) where I worked for six years as a lecturer; my professional life naturally switched to Mendelu University. Here I have work as an academician, since 2008, with my main focus centring around forestry, arboriculture and ecology practice.
In general, I am interested in soil science, ecology, forestry (soil taxonomy, soil water regime, soil trophy, humus conditions, forest soil revitalization, forest plant nutrition and fertilization). Within internships, I studied in Toulouse and in Nancy (France); then in Louisiana (USA). My great inspiration flows from a friendship with Keith R. Skene who visited Mendel University several times – the first was in 2012, when I interviewed him for our student journal LEF, about his Evolutionary theory.
Nowadays my activities are focused on following topics:
Beside my professional life, most important is my beloved family; my passions are music (guitar, blues, folk, of course the great dixieland), sport, poetry, literature, friends and fun.
Some of my publications:
Kučera, A.; Samec, P.; Bajer, A.; Skene, K. R.; Vichta, T.; Vranová, V.; Meena, R. S.; Datta, R., 2021. Forest Soil Water in Landscape Context. In: Soil Moisture Importance. London: IntechOpen Limited, s. 45-72. ISBN 978-1-83968-095-3. available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93003.
Kučera, A.; Rosíková, J.; Pecháček, J.; Dundek, P.; Vavříček, D., 2020. Combined Fertilizers Versus Dolomitic Limestone: A Comparative Study from a Forest Habitat with Norway Spruce. Central European Forestry Journal. 66(3), 141-150. ISSN 2454-034X
Kučera, A.; Skene, K. R.; Kupec, P., 2020. Soil Hydric Properties and Carbon Stock in a Semi-Arid Region of Iraqi Kurdistan: The Importance of Historical Pedogenesis, Climate and Locality. Ecological Indicators. 119(December), 106813. ISSN 1470-160X
Blazier, M.; Kučera, A.; Gaston, L., 2019. Soil Microbial Diversity and Function of Loblolly Pine and Mixed Loblolly Pine and Hardwood Forests Two Decades after Establishment on Retired Pastures in Northwest Louisiana. Embracing the Digital Environment: ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting 2019. 10.11.2019 - 13.11.2019, San Antonio. In: Embracing the Digital Environment: ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting 2019: Proceedings Paper. Madison: American Society of Agronomy Inc.
Kadavý, J.; Adamec, Z.; Uherková, B.; Kneifl, M.; Knott, R.; Kučera, A.; Friedl, M.; Dařenová, E.; Skládanka, J.; Drápela, K., 2019. Growth Response of Sessile Oak and European Hornbeam to Traditional Coppice-with-Standards Management. Forests 10(6), 515. ISSN 1999-4907
Deutscher, J.; Kupec, P.; Kučera, A.; Urban, J.; Ledesma, J.L.J.; Futter, M., 2019. Ecohydrological consequences of tree removal in an urban park evaluated using open data, free software and a minimalist measuring campaign. Science of the Total Environment 655, 1495-1504. ISSN 0048-9697.
Kučera, A.; Holik, L.; Muñoz Cerro, E.; Petříček, J. 2019. Effect of gap size and forest type on mineral nitrogen forms under different soil properties. Journal of Forestry Research. ISSN 1007-662X
Volařík, D., Svátek, M., Šenfeldr, M., Kučera, A., Šrámek, M., Dreslerová, J., Matula, R., 2017. Variation in canopy openness among main structural types of woody vegetation in a traditionally managed landscape. Folia Geobotanica 52,1 (15-32).
Enrenbergerová, L.; Cienciala, E.; Kučera, A.; Ludivine, G.; Habrová, H., 2016. Carbon stock in agroforestry coffee plantations with different shade trees in Villa Rica, Peru. Agroforestry Systems,90,3,433-445.
Kučera, A., Holík, L., Dundek, P., Marosz, K., 2014. Geology and Soil. In: Maděra, P et al.: Czech villages in Romanian Banat: landscape, nature, and culture. Brno: Astron studio CZ, a.s., 348 p. ISBN 978-80-7375-960-5.
My teaching career started at Lipka – a school facility for environmental education, Jezírko Training Facility in Brno (Czech Rep.) where I worked for six years as a lecturer; my professional life naturally switched to Mendelu University. Here I have work as an academician, since 2008, with my main focus centring around forestry, arboriculture and ecology practice.
In general, I am interested in soil science, ecology, forestry (soil taxonomy, soil water regime, soil trophy, humus conditions, forest soil revitalization, forest plant nutrition and fertilization). Within internships, I studied in Toulouse and in Nancy (France); then in Louisiana (USA). My great inspiration flows from a friendship with Keith R. Skene who visited Mendel University several times – the first was in 2012, when I interviewed him for our student journal LEF, about his Evolutionary theory.
Nowadays my activities are focused on following topics:
- adaptation strategies in forestry, edatope evaluation and transformations
- forest soil moisture regime
- special substrates in forestry and arboriculture based on recycled materials
- soil microbial functional diversity – evaluation of soil “health” and reaction to disturbance and forest management
- soil taxonomy and humus conditions
Beside my professional life, most important is my beloved family; my passions are music (guitar, blues, folk, of course the great dixieland), sport, poetry, literature, friends and fun.
Some of my publications:
Kučera, A.; Samec, P.; Bajer, A.; Skene, K. R.; Vichta, T.; Vranová, V.; Meena, R. S.; Datta, R., 2021. Forest Soil Water in Landscape Context. In: Soil Moisture Importance. London: IntechOpen Limited, s. 45-72. ISBN 978-1-83968-095-3. available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93003.
Kučera, A.; Rosíková, J.; Pecháček, J.; Dundek, P.; Vavříček, D., 2020. Combined Fertilizers Versus Dolomitic Limestone: A Comparative Study from a Forest Habitat with Norway Spruce. Central European Forestry Journal. 66(3), 141-150. ISSN 2454-034X
Kučera, A.; Skene, K. R.; Kupec, P., 2020. Soil Hydric Properties and Carbon Stock in a Semi-Arid Region of Iraqi Kurdistan: The Importance of Historical Pedogenesis, Climate and Locality. Ecological Indicators. 119(December), 106813. ISSN 1470-160X
Blazier, M.; Kučera, A.; Gaston, L., 2019. Soil Microbial Diversity and Function of Loblolly Pine and Mixed Loblolly Pine and Hardwood Forests Two Decades after Establishment on Retired Pastures in Northwest Louisiana. Embracing the Digital Environment: ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting 2019. 10.11.2019 - 13.11.2019, San Antonio. In: Embracing the Digital Environment: ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting 2019: Proceedings Paper. Madison: American Society of Agronomy Inc.
Kadavý, J.; Adamec, Z.; Uherková, B.; Kneifl, M.; Knott, R.; Kučera, A.; Friedl, M.; Dařenová, E.; Skládanka, J.; Drápela, K., 2019. Growth Response of Sessile Oak and European Hornbeam to Traditional Coppice-with-Standards Management. Forests 10(6), 515. ISSN 1999-4907
Deutscher, J.; Kupec, P.; Kučera, A.; Urban, J.; Ledesma, J.L.J.; Futter, M., 2019. Ecohydrological consequences of tree removal in an urban park evaluated using open data, free software and a minimalist measuring campaign. Science of the Total Environment 655, 1495-1504. ISSN 0048-9697.
Kučera, A.; Holik, L.; Muñoz Cerro, E.; Petříček, J. 2019. Effect of gap size and forest type on mineral nitrogen forms under different soil properties. Journal of Forestry Research. ISSN 1007-662X
Volařík, D., Svátek, M., Šenfeldr, M., Kučera, A., Šrámek, M., Dreslerová, J., Matula, R., 2017. Variation in canopy openness among main structural types of woody vegetation in a traditionally managed landscape. Folia Geobotanica 52,1 (15-32).
Enrenbergerová, L.; Cienciala, E.; Kučera, A.; Ludivine, G.; Habrová, H., 2016. Carbon stock in agroforestry coffee plantations with different shade trees in Villa Rica, Peru. Agroforestry Systems,90,3,433-445.
Kučera, A., Holík, L., Dundek, P., Marosz, K., 2014. Geology and Soil. In: Maděra, P et al.: Czech villages in Romanian Banat: landscape, nature, and culture. Brno: Astron studio CZ, a.s., 348 p. ISBN 978-80-7375-960-5.