Professor Simon Willcock
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Director of Sustainable Farming Systems
Specialism
Sustainable farming systems; agroecology; climate-resilient mixed farming; ecosystem services; social–ecological systems modelling; agricultural transitions; resilience; interdisciplinary systems science.Strategic leadership of research on farming systems that work with nature and our climate, including development of the Integrated Research & Innovation Farm.
Promoting interdisciplinary collaboration across crop science, animal science, soil science, ecology, economics, data science, engineering and food systems research.
Supporting research culture, postgraduate development, international partnerships, and major funding bids.
Areas of interest
- Climate-resilient mixed farming systems
- Nature-positive agriculture and biodiversity integration
- Soil health, ecosystem services and resilience
- Digital agriculture and farm-scale sensor platforms
- Climate change impacts and tipping points
- Circular bioeconomy (nutrient cycling, insects, algae)
- Agrivoltaics and integrated land-use systems
- Participatory research and co-creation with farmers and policy-makers
- International comparative agricultural systems
Postgraduate supervision
I supervise a number of PhD students and welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in sustainable farming systems, agroecology, climate resilience, soil health, digital agriculture, ecosystem services and interdisciplinary social–ecological systems research.
I particularly encourage projects that combine field experimentation with modelling, systems integration or stakeholder co-design.
Research centres and groups
Agrifood Futures; Systems and Futures Hub
Research projects
Current and recent research has focused on:
- Development of climate-resilient mixed farming platforms
- Long-term agricultural experiment networks
- Agricultural climate experiment integration
- Ecosystem service modelling in farming landscapes
- Digital and sensor-enabled farm research systems
- Social–ecological tipping points and resilience
Background
Professor Willcock is a systems scientist whose research integrates ecological, agricultural and social processes to address complex sustainability challenges. He has led and contributed to major interdisciplinary programmes in the UK and internationally, with field experience across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Prior to joining the University of Reading, he held senior academic and research leadership roles at Bangor University and Rothamsted Research. His work combines field experimentation, modelling, stakeholder engagement and policy-relevant research, with a strong emphasis on translating science into practice.
Selected publications
- Lenton, T.M., Milkoreit, M., Willcock, S., Abrams, J.F., Mc Kay, D.L.A., Buxton, J.E., Donges, J., Loriani, S., Wunderling, N., Alkemade, F. and Barrett, M., 2025. Global tipping points report 2025.
- Willcock, S., Cooper, G.S., Addy, J. and Dearing, J.A., 2023. Earlier collapse of Anthropocene ecosystems driven by multiple faster and noisier drivers. Nature Sustainability, 6(11), pp.1331-1342.
- Willcock, S., Hooftman, D.A., Neugarten, R.A., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Barredo, J.I., Hickler, T., Kindermann, G., Lewis, A.R., Lindeskog, M., Martínez-López, J. and Bullock, J.M., 2023. Model ensembles of ecosystem services fill global certainty and capacity gaps. Science Advances, 9(14), p.eadf5492.
- Hutchings, P., Willcock, S., Lynch, K., Bundhoo, D., Brewer, T., Cooper, S., Keech, D., Mekala, S., Mishra, P.P., Parker, A. and Shackleton, C.M., 2022. Understanding rural–urban transitions in the Global South through peri-urban turbulence. Nature Sustainability, 5(11), pp.924-930.
- Devenish, K., Desbureaux, S., Willcock, S. and Jones, J.P., 2022. On track to achieve no net loss of forest at Madagascar’s biggest mine. Nature Sustainability, 5(6), pp.498-508.