Dr Rachel Creamer
Soil Ecologist
Location: Building 37, Cranfield campus
E: r.creamer@cranfield.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1234750111 x2708
Natural Resources
Current activities
A post-doctoral research officer with a particular interest in soil fauna as indicators of soil quality and their application in soil monitoring. Dr Rachel Creamer is currently involved in monitoring projects both at a national (Defra) and European level (European community) assessing the application of soil biological indicators as tools for the assessment of soil quality.
Clients
- British Soil Science Society
Background
Dr Rachel Creamer graduated in Agricultural and Environmental Science (Hons) in Soil Science from the University of Newcastle in 1997. She was appointed as a scientific officer at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology for a period of four years as a soil scientist, working within two sections; radioecology and soil ecology. Her work involved a wide range of subject matters from studying the spatial analysis of vulnerable areas in Central Europe, as a result of 137Cs deposition from Chernobyl, to monitoring and assessing soil quality as part of the Countryside Survey 2000. She subsequently completed a PhD at the University of Newcastle studying the research topic ‘Assessing the Effects of Metals on Soil Invertebrates, Processes and Ecosystems’.
In 2004-5 Dr Rachel Creamer worked as a research officer for the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), Edinburgh. The project – ‘Soils – the foundation of the Rural Economy’ aimed to identify practical ways of improving the sustainable management of soils in the GB through a series of regionally based one-day meetings, based upon national and regional soil protection policies. In 2005 Rachel was appointed to Cranfield University as a Soil Ecologist within the National Soil Resources Institute.
Selected publications
- Creamer, R.E., Rimmer, D.L. and Black, H.I.J. (accepted). Do elevated soil concentrations of metals affect the diversity and activity of soil invertebrates in the long term? Soil Use and Management
- Black, H.I.J., Parekh, N.R., Chaplow, J.S., Monson, F., Watkins, J., Creamer, R., Potter, E.D., Poskitt, J.M., Rowland, P., Ainsworth, G. & Hornung, M., 2003. Assessing soil biodiversity across Great Britain: national trends in the occurrence of heterotrophic bacteria and invertebrates in soil. Journal of Environmental Management 67 (3): 255-266
- Creamer, R.E., Rimmer, D.L. & Black, H.I.J (2003) Unravelling links between metal contamination and soil invertebrate abundance at a national scale. In: Proc. 7th Int. Conf. On Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements, Uppsala, 2003 (eds G.R. Gobran & N. Lepp) vol. 1-I, pp. 98-99. Int. Soc. For Trace Element Biogeochemistry, Vienna, Austria.
- Wright S.M., Creamer R.E., Sanchez A.L. and Howard B.J. (1998). Using soil-plant transfer to identify areas vulnerable to radiocaesium deposition in Western Europe. In: XVIIIth ESNA/IUR meeting, Brno, Czech Republic 26-29th August 1998, 19-28. Seibersdorf: Osterrichisches.
- Palmer, R.C., Burton, R.G.O., Hannam, J. and Creamer, R. (2007). Comparison of soil structural conditions in Tone and Parrett catchments during winter periods 2002-03 and 2005-06. Environment Agency Contract Report.
- Black H.I.J., Garnett J.S., Ainsworth G., Coward P.A., Creamer R., Ellwood S., Horne J., Hornung M., Kennedy V.H., Monson F., Raine L., Osborn D., Parekh N.R., Parrington J., Poskitt J.M., Potter E., Reeves N., Rowland A.P., Self P., Turner S., Watkins J., Woods C. and Wright J. (2002). MASQ: Monitoring And Assessing Soil Quality in Great Britain. Countryside Survey Module 6: Soils and Pollution. Environment Agency (R & D Technical Report E1-063/TR) ISBN:1857056949
