Two DPhil (PhD) positions are available on the programme "FLOURISHING-LANDSCAPES: Enhancing the social and ecological outcomes of nature-based solutions in tropical agricultural landscapes" led by the Nature-based Solutions Initiative, Department of Biology, University of Oxford. These DPhils are supervised by Prof. Nathalie Seddon, Dr. William Thompson and Dr. Jesus Aguirre Gutierrez.
DPhil 1: Ecological remote sensing to evaluate and inform the design of nature-based solutions in West African agricultural landscapes
DPhil 2: Integrating social and ecological data to inform landscape-scale decision-making for the design of nature-based solutions in West African agricultural landscapes
Background: We are facing a dual climate and biodiversity crisis, that also threatens livelihoods. Action must be taken, in a socially just way, to reduce emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere, as well as halting deforestation and restoring nature. Agroforestry, the deliberate inclusion of trees in cropping systems, and more broadly reforestation, have been identified as potentially powerful nature-based solutions to climate adaptation and biodiversity challenges1,2. However, many potential risks with reforestation strategies have also been identified, including, trade-offs with food security and biodiversity, as well as equity issues,4,5.
The FLOURISHING-LANDSCAPES programme will focus on West Africa, in rural areas where the highly fragmented remnants of the Guinean Forests are interspersed with agricultural production. In particular, cocoa is a leading crop produced in these landscapes and a key driver of deforestation, as well as forest and land degradation. In response to this, leading producer country governments (Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon), companies, NGOs and farmer organisations have been investing in supporting a transition to diversified agroforestry systems and restoring forest ecosystems, i.e. scaling up nature-based solutions. However, these interventions have so far had limited success, with unsustainable monoculture systems remaining dominant in the region, leaving farmers' livelihoods vulnerable to multiple shocks and stresses6.
Key gaps remain in the scientific and practitioner knowledge base around the effectiveness of nature-based solutions, such as agroforestry and reforestation, in tropical agricultural landscapes. These range from how perennial tree crops interact in mixtures with native tree species, to how changing land use patterns affect community food security and resilience at a landscape scale. Beyond effectiveness, there are important knowledge gaps around the equity implications of promoting these nature-based solutions and, therefore, how best they can be financed and scaled.
The FLOURISHING-LANDSCAPES programme aims to address these gaps via utilising a transdisciplinary research approach, co-generating knowledge with stakeholders, across multiple sectors connected to landscapes in the high forest zone of Ghana. In its first phase, these two DPhil projects will focus on evaluating how different farm and landscape-level configurations of agroforestry and reforestation impact social and ecological outcomes, such as food security and biodiversity, as well as forecasting future outcomes. This will involve a variety of research methods, such as drone and satellite remote sensing, ecological surveys and co-designing decision-making tools. These tools will feed into the ongoing, NERC funded, HARP toolkit project, led by the Nature-based Solutions Initiative, Department of Biology, University of Oxford.
DPhil 1: Ecological remote sensing to evaluate and inform the design of nature-based solutions in West African agricultural landscapes
Research Question: How do different configurations of species in agroforestry and reforestation interventions affect ecosystem health?
This DPhil project will use remote sensing (from satellites and drones) of farm and forest vegetation to gain insights about their structure and health, and will make use of microclimatic sensor networks, as well as spatially explicit biodiversity data, to evaluate existing nature-based solutions in Ghana. This project will generate new ecological knowledge of on- and off-farm nature-based solutions (agroforestry, riparian buffers, enrichment planting), relating to organism-, farm- and landscape-scale processes and their impacts on ecosystem function and biodiversity. This will feed into predictive approaches that will help inform the design of future nature-based solutions interventions.
Candidate requirements: We are seeking a DPhil candidate with a Masters in ecology, environmental engineering, environmental science, or similar. The ideal candidate will have a strong affinity for understanding ecological processes and skills in spatial data analysis, including the analysis of drone and satellite imagery, LiDAR vegetation structure data as well as good coding skills, in R or Python. Experience in collecting ecological and remote sensing data in the field would be an asset. Candidates from West Africa and underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply.
Continue with Facebook
