Dr Thorsten Balke

  • Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology (School of Geographical & Earth Sciences)

telephone: 01413305407
email: Thorsten.Balke@glasgow.ac.uk

School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Main Building East Quad., Room 409

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7733-5069

Biography

PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands)

Dipl. Geogr. (equiv. MSc), Leibniz University Hanover (Germany)

Research interests

As a landscape ecologist and geographer I am keen to improve process understanding of dynamic lanscapes and plant communities at various spatial and temporal scales .

My research group adopts a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to better understand the linkages between ecological, geomorphological/hydrological and anthropogenic processes in coastal and riparian landscapes. Our research output aims to help designing and implementing scalable Nature-based Solutions at land-water interfaces.

 

 

 

Key words:

  • Biogeomorphology and biophysical interactions
  • Mangroves, salt marshes, dunes, riparian floodplains
  • Restoration Ecology
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Management of dynamic landscapes
  • Ecosystem services
  • Disturbance and seedling ecology
  • Coastal environmental change
  • Plant ecology and phenology

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011
Number of items: 32.

2022

Mallon, J., Banaszak, A. T., Donachie, L., Exton, D., Cyronak, T., Balke, T. and Bass, A. M. (2022) A low-cost benthic incubation chamber for in-situ community metabolism measurements. PeerJ, 10, e13116. (doi: 10.7717/peerj.13116) (PMID:35402104) (PMCID:PMC8992662)

2021

Basyuni, M., Bimantara, Y., Cuc, N. T.K., Balke, T. and Vovides, A. G. (2021) Macrozoobenthic community assemblage as key indicator for mangrove restoration success in North Sumatra and Aceh, Indonesia. Restoration Ecology, (doi: 10.1111/rec.13614) (Early Online Publication)

Vovides, A. G. , Wimmler, M.-C., Schrewe, F., Balke, T. , Zwanzig, M., Piou, C., Delay, E., López-Portillo, J. and Berger, U. (2021) Cooperative root graft networks benefit mangrove trees under stress. Communications Biology, 4, 513. (doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02044-x) (PMID:33953329) (PMCID:PMC8100114)

Cziesielski, M. J. et al. (2021) Investing in blue natural capital to secure a future for the Red Sea ecosystems. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 603722. (doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.603722)

Balke, T. , Vovides, A. , Schwarz, C., Chmura, G. L., Ladd, C. and Basyuni, M. (2021) Monitoring tidal hydrology in coastal wetlands with the Mini Buoy: applications for mangrove restoration. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 25, pp. 1229-1244. (doi: 10.5194/hess-25-1229-2021)

Renaud, F. et al. (2021) Adaptation and Resilience in ASEAN: Managing Disaster Risks from Natural Hazards. Documentation. UK Government.

2020

Vovides, A. J. , Berger, U. and Balke, T. (2020) Morphological plasticity and survival thresholds of mangrove plants growing in active sedimentary environments. In: Friess, D. and Sidik, F. (eds.) Dynamic Sedimentary Environments of Mangrove Coasts. Elsevier. ISBN 9780128164372

Dahdouh-Guebas, F. et al. (2020) Public perceptions of mangrove forests matter for their conservation. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 603651. (doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.603651)

Lõhmus, K., Balke, T. and Kleyer, M. (2020) Spatial and temporal patterns of initial plant establishment in salt marsh communities. Journal of Vegetation Science, 31(6), pp. 1122-1132. (doi: 10.1111/jvs.12915)

2019

Balke, T. and Nilsson, C. (2019) Increasing synchrony of annual river-flood peaks and growing season in Europe. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(17-18), pp. 446-453. (doi: 10.1029/2019GL084612)

Curnick, D. J. et al. (2019) The value of small mangrove patches. Science, 363(6424), p. 239. (doi: 10.1126/science.aaw0809) (PMID:30655434)

2018

Zielinski, O., Meier, D., Lõhmus, K., Balke, T. , Kleyer, M. and Hillebrand, H. (2018) Environmental conditions of a salt-marsh biodiversity experiment on the island of Spiekeroog (Germany). Earth System Science Data, 10(4), pp. 1843-1858. (doi: 10.5194/essd-10-1843-2018)

Redelstein, R., Zotz, G. and Balke, T. (2018) Seedling stability in waterlogged sediments: an experiment with saltmarsh plants. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 590, pp. 95-108. (doi: 10.3354/meps12463)

Cao, H., Zhu, Z., Balke, T. , Zhang, L. and Bouma, T. J. (2018) Effects of sediment disturbance regimes on Spartina seedling establishment: implications for salt marsh creation and restoration. Limnology and Oceanography, 63(2), pp. 647-659. (doi: 10.1002/lno.10657)

2017

Balke, T. , Lõhmus, K., Hillebrand, H., Zielinski, O., Haynert, K., Meier, D., Hodapp, D., Minden, V. and Kleyer, M. (2017) Experimental salt marsh islands: a model system for novel metacommunity experiments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 198(Part A), pp. 288-298. (doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2017.09.021)

2016

Bouma, T.J. et al. (2016) Short-term mudflat dynamics drive long-term cyclic salt marsh dynamics. Limnology and Oceanography, 61(6), pp. 2261-2275. (doi: 10.1002/lno.10374)

Balke, T. , Stock, M., Jensen, K., Bouma, T. J. and Kleyer, M. (2016) A global analysis of the seaward salt marsh extent: the importance of tidal range. Water Resources Research, 52(5), pp. 3775-3786. (doi: 10.1002/2015WR018318)

Balke, T. and Friess, D. A. (2016) Geomorphic knowledge for mangrove restoration: a pan-tropical categorization. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(2), pp. 231-239. (doi: 10.1002/esp.3841)

2015

Corenblit, D. et al. (2015) Engineer pioneer plants respond to and affect geomorphic constraints similarly along water-terrestrial interfaces world-wide. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 24(12), pp. 1363-1376. (doi: 10.1111/geb.12373)

van Wesenbeeck, B.K., Balke, T. , van Eijk, P., Tonneijck, F., Siry, H.Y., Rudianto, M.E. and Winterwerp, J.C. (2015) Aquaculture induced erosion of tropical coastlines throws coastal communities back into poverty. Ocean and Coastal Management, 116, pp. 466-469. (doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.09.004)

Hu, Z., van Belzen, J., van der Wal, D., Balke, T. , Wang, Z. B., Stive, M. and Bouma, T. J. (2015) Windows of opportunity for salt marsh vegetation establishment on bare tidal flats: the importance of temporal and spatial variability in hydrodynamic forcing. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 120(7), pp. 1450-1469. (doi: 10.1002/2014JG002870)

Balke, T. , Swales, A., Lovelock, C. E., Herman, P. M.J. and Bouma, T. J. (2015) Limits to seaward expansion of mangroves: translating physical disturbance mechanisms into seedling survival gradients. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 467, pp. 16-25. (doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2015.02.015)

2014

Balke, T. , Herman, P. M. J. and Bouma, T. J. (2014) Critical transitions in disturbance-driven ecosystems: identifying windows of opportunity for recovery. Journal of Ecology, 102(3), pp. 700-708. (doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12241)

Bouma, T. J. et al. (2014) Identifying knowledge gaps hampering application of intertidal habitats in coastal protection: opportunities & steps to take. Coastal Engineering, 87, pp. 147-157. (doi: 10.1016/j.coastaleng.2013.11.014)

2013

Balke, T. , Bouma, T. J., Herman, P.M.J., Horstman, E. M., Sudtongkong, C. and Webb, E. L. (2013) Cross-shore gradients of physical disturbance in mangroves: implications for seedling establishment. Biogeosciences, 10(8), pp. 5411-5419. (doi: 10.5194/bg-10-5411-2013)

Balke, T. , Webb, E. L., van den Elzen, E., Galli, D., Herman, P. M. J. and Bouma, T. J. (2013) Seedling establishment in a dynamic sedimentary environment: a conceptual framework using mangroves. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(3), pp. 740-747. (doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12067) (PMID:23894211) (PMCID:PMC3712466)

Van der Stocken, T., De Ryck, D. J. R., Balke, T. , Bouma, T. J., Dahdouh-Guebas, F. and Koedam, N. (2013) The role of wind in hydrochorous mangrove propagule dispersal. Biogeosciences, 10(6), pp. 3635-3647. (doi: 10.5194/bg-10-3635-2013)

Bouma, T.J. et al. (2013) Organism traits determine the strength of scale-dependent bio-geomorphic feedbacks: a flume study on three intertidal plant species. Geomorphology, 180-18, pp. 57-65. (doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.09.005)

2012

Balke, T. , Klaassen, P. C., Garbutt, A., van der Wal, D., Herman, P. M.J. and Bouma, T. J. (2012) Conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering: a case study on tussocks of the salt marsh pioneer Spartina anglica. Geomorphology, 153-54, pp. 232-238. (doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.03.002)

Friess, D. A., Krauss, K. W., Horstman, E. M., Balke, T. , Bouma, T. J., Galli, D. and Webb, E. L. (2012) Are all intertidal wetlands naturally created equal? Bottlenecks, thresholds and knowledge gaps to mangrove and saltmarsh ecosystems. Biological Reviews, 87(2), pp. 346-366. (doi: 10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00198.x) (PMID:21923637)

2011

Balke, T. , Bouma, T.J., Horstman, E.M., Webb, E.L., Erftemeijer, P.L.A. and Herman, P.M.J. (2011) Windows of opportunity: thresholds to mangrove seedling establishment on tidal flats. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 440, pp. 1-9. (doi: 10.3354/meps09364)

Vandenbruwaene, W. et al. (2011) Flow interaction with dynamic vegetation patches: Implications for biogeomorphic evolution of a tidal landscape. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116(F1), (doi: 10.1029/2010JF001788)

This list was generated on Sun May 22 12:34:50 2022 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Book Sections | Research Reports or Papers
Number of items: 32.

Articles

Mallon, J., Banaszak, A. T., Donachie, L., Exton, D., Cyronak, T., Balke, T. and Bass, A. M. (2022) A low-cost benthic incubation chamber for in-situ community metabolism measurements. PeerJ, 10, e13116. (doi: 10.7717/peerj.13116) (PMID:35402104) (PMCID:PMC8992662)

Basyuni, M., Bimantara, Y., Cuc, N. T.K., Balke, T. and Vovides, A. G. (2021) Macrozoobenthic community assemblage as key indicator for mangrove restoration success in North Sumatra and Aceh, Indonesia. Restoration Ecology, (doi: 10.1111/rec.13614) (Early Online Publication)

Vovides, A. G. , Wimmler, M.-C., Schrewe, F., Balke, T. , Zwanzig, M., Piou, C., Delay, E., López-Portillo, J. and Berger, U. (2021) Cooperative root graft networks benefit mangrove trees under stress. Communications Biology, 4, 513. (doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02044-x) (PMID:33953329) (PMCID:PMC8100114)

Cziesielski, M. J. et al. (2021) Investing in blue natural capital to secure a future for the Red Sea ecosystems. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 603722. (doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.603722)

Balke, T. , Vovides, A. , Schwarz, C., Chmura, G. L., Ladd, C. and Basyuni, M. (2021) Monitoring tidal hydrology in coastal wetlands with the Mini Buoy: applications for mangrove restoration. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 25, pp. 1229-1244. (doi: 10.5194/hess-25-1229-2021)

Dahdouh-Guebas, F. et al. (2020) Public perceptions of mangrove forests matter for their conservation. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 603651. (doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.603651)

Lõhmus, K., Balke, T. and Kleyer, M. (2020) Spatial and temporal patterns of initial plant establishment in salt marsh communities. Journal of Vegetation Science, 31(6), pp. 1122-1132. (doi: 10.1111/jvs.12915)

Balke, T. and Nilsson, C. (2019) Increasing synchrony of annual river-flood peaks and growing season in Europe. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(17-18), pp. 446-453. (doi: 10.1029/2019GL084612)

Curnick, D. J. et al. (2019) The value of small mangrove patches. Science, 363(6424), p. 239. (doi: 10.1126/science.aaw0809) (PMID:30655434)

Zielinski, O., Meier, D., Lõhmus, K., Balke, T. , Kleyer, M. and Hillebrand, H. (2018) Environmental conditions of a salt-marsh biodiversity experiment on the island of Spiekeroog (Germany). Earth System Science Data, 10(4), pp. 1843-1858. (doi: 10.5194/essd-10-1843-2018)

Redelstein, R., Zotz, G. and Balke, T. (2018) Seedling stability in waterlogged sediments: an experiment with saltmarsh plants. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 590, pp. 95-108. (doi: 10.3354/meps12463)

Cao, H., Zhu, Z., Balke, T. , Zhang, L. and Bouma, T. J. (2018) Effects of sediment disturbance regimes on Spartina seedling establishment: implications for salt marsh creation and restoration. Limnology and Oceanography, 63(2), pp. 647-659. (doi: 10.1002/lno.10657)

Balke, T. , Lõhmus, K., Hillebrand, H., Zielinski, O., Haynert, K., Meier, D., Hodapp, D., Minden, V. and Kleyer, M. (2017) Experimental salt marsh islands: a model system for novel metacommunity experiments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 198(Part A), pp. 288-298. (doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2017.09.021)

Bouma, T.J. et al. (2016) Short-term mudflat dynamics drive long-term cyclic salt marsh dynamics. Limnology and Oceanography, 61(6), pp. 2261-2275. (doi: 10.1002/lno.10374)

Balke, T. , Stock, M., Jensen, K., Bouma, T. J. and Kleyer, M. (2016) A global analysis of the seaward salt marsh extent: the importance of tidal range. Water Resources Research, 52(5), pp. 3775-3786. (doi: 10.1002/2015WR018318)

Balke, T. and Friess, D. A. (2016) Geomorphic knowledge for mangrove restoration: a pan-tropical categorization. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(2), pp. 231-239. (doi: 10.1002/esp.3841)

Corenblit, D. et al. (2015) Engineer pioneer plants respond to and affect geomorphic constraints similarly along water-terrestrial interfaces world-wide. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 24(12), pp. 1363-1376. (doi: 10.1111/geb.12373)

van Wesenbeeck, B.K., Balke, T. , van Eijk, P., Tonneijck, F., Siry, H.Y., Rudianto, M.E. and Winterwerp, J.C. (2015) Aquaculture induced erosion of tropical coastlines throws coastal communities back into poverty. Ocean and Coastal Management, 116, pp. 466-469. (doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.09.004)

Hu, Z., van Belzen, J., van der Wal, D., Balke, T. , Wang, Z. B., Stive, M. and Bouma, T. J. (2015) Windows of opportunity for salt marsh vegetation establishment on bare tidal flats: the importance of temporal and spatial variability in hydrodynamic forcing. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 120(7), pp. 1450-1469. (doi: 10.1002/2014JG002870)

Balke, T. , Swales, A., Lovelock, C. E., Herman, P. M.J. and Bouma, T. J. (2015) Limits to seaward expansion of mangroves: translating physical disturbance mechanisms into seedling survival gradients. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 467, pp. 16-25. (doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2015.02.015)

Balke, T. , Herman, P. M. J. and Bouma, T. J. (2014) Critical transitions in disturbance-driven ecosystems: identifying windows of opportunity for recovery. Journal of Ecology, 102(3), pp. 700-708. (doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12241)

Bouma, T. J. et al. (2014) Identifying knowledge gaps hampering application of intertidal habitats in coastal protection: opportunities & steps to take. Coastal Engineering, 87, pp. 147-157. (doi: 10.1016/j.coastaleng.2013.11.014)

Balke, T. , Bouma, T. J., Herman, P.M.J., Horstman, E. M., Sudtongkong, C. and Webb, E. L. (2013) Cross-shore gradients of physical disturbance in mangroves: implications for seedling establishment. Biogeosciences, 10(8), pp. 5411-5419. (doi: 10.5194/bg-10-5411-2013)

Balke, T. , Webb, E. L., van den Elzen, E., Galli, D., Herman, P. M. J. and Bouma, T. J. (2013) Seedling establishment in a dynamic sedimentary environment: a conceptual framework using mangroves. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(3), pp. 740-747. (doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12067) (PMID:23894211) (PMCID:PMC3712466)

Van der Stocken, T., De Ryck, D. J. R., Balke, T. , Bouma, T. J., Dahdouh-Guebas, F. and Koedam, N. (2013) The role of wind in hydrochorous mangrove propagule dispersal. Biogeosciences, 10(6), pp. 3635-3647. (doi: 10.5194/bg-10-3635-2013)

Bouma, T.J. et al. (2013) Organism traits determine the strength of scale-dependent bio-geomorphic feedbacks: a flume study on three intertidal plant species. Geomorphology, 180-18, pp. 57-65. (doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.09.005)

Balke, T. , Klaassen, P. C., Garbutt, A., van der Wal, D., Herman, P. M.J. and Bouma, T. J. (2012) Conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering: a case study on tussocks of the salt marsh pioneer Spartina anglica. Geomorphology, 153-54, pp. 232-238. (doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.03.002)

Friess, D. A., Krauss, K. W., Horstman, E. M., Balke, T. , Bouma, T. J., Galli, D. and Webb, E. L. (2012) Are all intertidal wetlands naturally created equal? Bottlenecks, thresholds and knowledge gaps to mangrove and saltmarsh ecosystems. Biological Reviews, 87(2), pp. 346-366. (doi: 10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00198.x) (PMID:21923637)

Balke, T. , Bouma, T.J., Horstman, E.M., Webb, E.L., Erftemeijer, P.L.A. and Herman, P.M.J. (2011) Windows of opportunity: thresholds to mangrove seedling establishment on tidal flats. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 440, pp. 1-9. (doi: 10.3354/meps09364)

Vandenbruwaene, W. et al. (2011) Flow interaction with dynamic vegetation patches: Implications for biogeomorphic evolution of a tidal landscape. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116(F1), (doi: 10.1029/2010JF001788)

Book Sections

Vovides, A. J. , Berger, U. and Balke, T. (2020) Morphological plasticity and survival thresholds of mangrove plants growing in active sedimentary environments. In: Friess, D. and Sidik, F. (eds.) Dynamic Sedimentary Environments of Mangrove Coasts. Elsevier. ISBN 9780128164372

Research Reports or Papers

Renaud, F. et al. (2021) Adaptation and Resilience in ASEAN: Managing Disaster Risks from Natural Hazards. Documentation. UK Government.

This list was generated on Sun May 22 12:34:50 2022 BST.

Grants

Obtained funding at Glasgow University (only >£5k):

 

2022

Co-I and WP2 lead on £10.2 million NERC funded project GALLANT (2022-2027) Delivering a Climate Resilient City through City-University Partnership: Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation  

PI on UoG 'Reinvigorating Research' grant £16.9k (2022) A plant functional trait approach to Nature-based Solutions

 

2021 

PI on £5k Marine Alliance for Science & Technology for Scotland funded project (2021): How vulnerable are Scottish loch-head marshes to climate change?

 

2019

Co-I on £15.2m GCRF Living Deltas Hub (2019-2024)

Work Package 4: Develop delta-level interventions to respond to and mitigate against foreseeable coastal system tipping points

 

Co-I on Volkswagen Foundation (off-the-beaten-track) (€121k to UoG ) as part of a €409k project: Grafted Root Interaction Networks: Kropotkin’s garden: Networking beats competition in the struggle for limited resources (2019-2021)

 

2018

Carnegie Trust Research Incentive Grant (£9,883) Plant phenology and coastal dynamics in a changing climate (Scotland) (2018-2019)

Co-I on EU H2020 HYDRALAB+ access grant for a large scale flume experiment: Hydrodynamics at coastal wetland edges (2018)

UoG CoSE Rewards for Excellence (£10,000) Developing sensors for long-term monitoring of mechanical stress on intertidal plants (2018)

 

2017

Co-I on NERC/Newton Fund (£286k /£370k FEC contribution) as part of a £780k project: MOnitoring Mangrove ExteNT & Services (MOMENTS): What is controlling Tipping Points? (Indonesia, Vietnam: 2017-2020)

 

 

Supervision

Research Team:

Postdocs:

Alejandra Vovides

Cai Ladd

 

PhD candidates:

 

  • Argemí Cierco, Marta
    Nature based coastal protection: a predictive model for marsh ecosystem services
  • Ebeler, Laura
    Development of an interdisciplinary decision support tool to inform mangrove restoration/conservation in large Asian deltas
  • Mallon, Jennifer
    Calculating a blue carbon budget for contemporary Caribbean coral reefs under global climate change conditions
  • Stolpmann, Lea
    Mangrove sediment carbon budgets along eroding and prograding coasts.
  • Zhang, Kangyong
    Mangrove Biomass Estimation through Remote Sensing and Machine Learning based Approaches

Teaching

  • Programme lead: Sustainable Water Environments MSc.
  • Environmental history, hazards and urban physical geography, coastal processes (L2 Geography)
  • Sediment laboratory course (L2 Geography)
  • Biogeography of Europe (10 credit honours option)
  • Nature Conservation in Europe (10 credit honours option)
  • Residential field class (L2 Geography)
  • Geographic thought (L3 Geography)
  • Geography summer school (pre University)
  • Ecology and Restoration (Sustainable Water Evironments MSc.)
  • Managing Water Environments (Sustainable Water Evironments MSc.)
  • Monitoring Water Environments (Sustainable Water Evironments MSc.)
  • Global Challenges (Earth Futures MSc.)

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