 | Head of Department Senior Lecturer |
Academic Profile
I joined the Department in 2008 and currently serve as Head of Department. My teaching is largely physical geography in focus but touches on the social drivers of these systems and includes biogeography, landscape ecology, urban ecology, restoration ecology, and social-ecological systems.
Research Interests
My research sits in the nexus between landscape ecology and restoration; understanding system function at the landscape level to inform recovery to meet conservation and land use agendas. The rationale for my research has always been based on a desire to inform the human wellbeing and livelihood elements of landscape use and simultaneously in achieving conservation ends. I find this frequently contested space both stimulating and exacting. I draw on a variety of methods and combine a number of theoretical areas in my research including community ecology, ecosystem services, plant functional types, landscape history, conservation biology, urban ecology and restoration ecology.
Select recent peer-reviewed publications
Cook, E.M., Kim, Y., Grimm, N.B., McPhearson, T., Anderson, P., Bulkeley, H., Collier, M.J., Diep, L., Morató, J. and Zhou, W., 2025. Nature-based solutions for urban sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(29), p.e2315909122.
McPhearson, T., Frantzeskaki, N., Ossola, A., Diep, L., Anderson, P.M., Blatch, T., Collier, M.J., Cook, E.M., Culwick Fatti, C., Grabowski, Z.J. and Grimm, N.B., 2025. Global synthesis and regional insights for mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(29), p.e2315910121.
Derickson, K., Walker, R., Hamann, M., Anderson, P., Adegun, O.B., Castillo, A.C., Guerry, A., Keeler, B., Llewellyn, L., Matheney, A. and Mogosetsi-Gabriel, N., 2024. The intersection of justice and urban greening: future directions and opportunities for research and practice. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, p.128279.
Frantzeskaki, N., Childers, D.L., Pickett, S., Hoover, F.A., Anderson, P., Barau, A., Ginsberg, J., Grove, M., Lodder, M., Lugo, A.E. and McPhearson, T., 2024. A transformative shift in urban ecology toward a more active and relevant future for the field and for cities. Ambio, 53(6), pp.871-889.
Grove, M., Pickett, S., Boone, C.G., Buckley, G.L., Anderson, P., Hoover, F.A., Lugo, A.E., Meléndez-Ackerman, E., Muñoz-Erickson, T.A., Nagendra, H. and Selles, L.K., 2024. Forging just ecologies: 25 years of urban long-term ecological research collaboration. Ambio, pp.1-19.
Pickett, S.T., Simone, A.T., Anderson, P., Sharifi, A., Barau, A., Hoover, F.A., Childers, D.L., McPhearson, T., Muñoz-Erickson, T.A., Pacteau, C. and Grove, M., 2024. The relational shift in urban ecology: From place and structures to multiple modes of coproduction for positive urban futures. Ambio, pp.1-26.
Tozer, L., Nagendra, H., Anderson, P. and Kavonic, J., 2023. Towards just nature-based solutions for cities. In Nature-Based Solutions for Cities (pp. 30-47). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Cowell, C.R., Lughadha, E.N., Anderson, P.M., Leão, T., Williams, J. and Annecke, W.A., 2022. Prioritising species for monitoring in a South African protected area and the Red List for plants. Biodiversity and Conservation, pp.1-19.
Nsikani, M.M., Anderson, P., Bouragaoui, Z., Geerts, S., Gornish, E.S., Kairo, J.G., Khan, N., Madikizela, B., Mganga, K.Z., Ntshotsho, P. and Okafor‐Yarwood, I., 2022. UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: key considerations for Africa. Restoration Ecology, p.e13699.
Atkins, J.F., Anderson, P.M. and Bouland, C., 2022. The nitrogen budget of an urban watershed: Zeekoevlei, Cape Town. Landscape and Urban Planning, 227, p.104540.
Brill, G.C., Anderson, P.M. and O’Farrell, P., 2022. Relational Values of Cultural Ecosystem Services in an Urban Conservation Area: The Case of Table Mountain National Park, South Africa. Land, 11(5), p.603.
Goddard, M.A., Davies, Z.G., Guenat, S., Ferguson, M.J., Fisher, J.C., Akanni, A., Ahjokoski, T., Anderson, P.M.L., Angeoletto, F., and others, 2021. A global horizon scan of the future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on urban ecosystems. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(2), pp.219-230.
Andersson, E., Haase, D., Anderson, P., Cortinovis, C., Goodness, J., Kendal, D., Lausch, A., McPhearson, T., Sikorska, D. and Wellmann, T., 2021. What are the traits of a social-ecological system: towards a framework in support of urban sustainability. npj Urban Sustainability, 1(1), pp.1-8.
Anderson, P., Charles-Dominique, T., Ernstson, H., Andersson, E., Goodness, J. and Elmqvist, T., 2020. Post-apartheid ecologies in the City of Cape Town: An examination of plant functional traits in relation to urban gradients. Landscape and Urban Planning, 193, p.103662.
Mathenjwa, F., Anderson, P. and O’Farrell, P., 2022. The case of the Khayelitsha Wetlands Park, South Africa: Securing biodiversity and social benefits from urban greenspace. In Creating Resilient Landscapes in an Era of Climate Change (pp. 123-135). Routledge.
Anderson, P.M.L., 2020. Biodiversity in cities. In The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology, second edition (eds) Douglas, I., Anderson, P.M.L., Nagendra, H., Maddox, D., Goode, D., Houck, M., Puay Yok, T. Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, England, UK.
Douglas, I. and Anderson, P.M.L., 2020. Cities as biophysical landscapes: diversity of habitats and species. In The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology, second edition (eds) Douglas, I., Anderson, P.M.L., Nagendra, H., Maddox, D., Goode, D., Houck, M., Puay Yok, T. Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, England, UK.
Recent student supervision
Zoe Poulsen. PhD. Restoration of grazing lands in the Overberg. (graduated 2021)
Nicola Grobelaar. PhD. Objects in informing ecologies. (graduated 2021)
Abigail Graham. Masters. Small mammal diversity in renosterveld fragments, understanding the role of degradation and patch size. (graduated 2022)
Taylor Keet. Masters. Coming back from the brink: what accounts for the conservation success of the Oyster catcher? (graduated 2023)
Carly Wise. Masters. Social perception of green and blue space in the city: the case of Milnerton Lagoon. (graduated 2022)
Oliver Cowan. PhD. Ecology of different renosterveld types: ecological understanding towards restoration. (graduated 2020)
Carly Cowell. PhD. Herbaria as tools for conservation monitoring. (graduated 2019)
Julie Goodness. PhD. Towards global understandings of plant functional trait response in the urban. (Stockholm University, graduated 2018)
Gregg Brill. PhD. Ecosystem service delivery from a National Park in a city: the case of water and Table Mountain. (graduated 2017)
Inca Horn. Masters. Informal conservation governance – understanding civic engagements in conservation in cities. (graduated 2024)
Nicola Du Plessis. Masters. Could catcment conservation be funded through urban water tariffs? A case study of three South African catchments. Conservation Biology. (graduated 2022)
Quraisha Bux. Masters. Sustainability measures in an urban setting. (graduated 2019)
Khathu Mikosi. Masters. Exploring the contribution of alternative food systems towards food security: a case study of the Siyazenzela Food Garden Project. (graduated 2019)
Boitshekwane Gantsi. Masters. Rivers and cultural ecosystem services. (graduated 2017)
Michaela Wolke. Masters. Narratives of urban conservation explored through the case of Rondebosch Common. (graduated 2017)
Peta Brom. Masters. Suburban gardens as safe-havens for frog conservation in cities: A case study of the Liesbeek River Catchment. (graduated 2017)
Sharon Ramswarmy. Masters. Eco-communities: security entities or genuine environmental endeavour? (graduated 2017)
Fezile Mathenjwa. Masters. Urban ecosystem services: The case of the Khayelitsha Wetland Park. (graduated 2017)
Elize le Roux. Masters. Anatolian sheep dogs as an effective means of managing livestock predation in Namaqualand. (graduated 2017)