ACCE DTP fully-funded project: Going back to a peaty future: exploring past peat loss, present restoration options and future peat gains within the North York Moors National Park

Lead Supervisor: Dr Andreas Heinemeyer (UoY Department of Environment and Geography)

Co-Supervisors: Dr Colin McClean (York), Richard Chiverrell (Liverpool), Chris Evans (CEH), Elspeth Ingleby (CASE partner; North York Moors National Park)

The student will be registered with the Department of Environment and Geography

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration targets, such as the ‘4 per mille’ initiative, are a vital tool in mitigating against rising atmospheric CO2 levels. However, indications are that past SOC losses due to peatland management over thousands of years (e.g. cutting for fuel, fire, drainage for agriculture) depleted peat SOC stocks, even leading to large-scale peatland losses, which so far are not considered in models. Therefore, a revised potential SOC/peat accumulation map is required to compare SOC/peat sequestration rates based on actual vs. potential SOC stocks. This project has the potential of becoming a step-change in understanding the potential of the 4 per mille initiative.

The student will mainly be based at the University of York and work within the Peatland-ES-UK team, assessing management impacts on upland peatlands and will be supported by the North-York-Moors National Park Authority (CASE partner). The student will conduct a range of field surveys to undertake the UK’s first ever landscape-scale assessment of potential historic peat losses. She/he will examine the relative importance of climate and management in determining past SOC and peatland loss and, conversely, the resulting peat re-creation potential. Field work, including rewetting trials, will be augmented by mesocosm studies in York/Liverpool/CEH-Bangor. Findings will be incorporated into an available peatland model to enable exploring management/restoration options and temporal and spatial climate and management scenarios.

This will be the first ever UK field-scale assessment to unravel the relationship between past management, peatland restoration and future SOC sequestration potential considering shallow or lost peat areas. The results of the project will inform peatland restoration, management and policies on nature based solutions.

There are ample opportunities for the student to learn new or extend existing skills (e.g. C++ coding, GIS analysis, field surveys, C-flux monitoring, spatial modelling) and becoming involved in collaborations and policy work.

The ACCE DTP and the University of York are committed to recruiting future scientists regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways and we have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in science, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.

Entry Requirements: Students with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. The interdisciplinary nature of this programme means that we welcome applications from students with backgrounds in any biological, chemical, and/or physical science, or students with mathematical backgrounds who are interested in using their skills in addressing biological, ecological or evolutionary questions. 

Programme: PhD in ACCE (4 years)

Start Date: 1st October 2022 (the student will be registered with the Department of Environment and Geography)

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in the w/c 21 February 2022