Background
Tree cover in the UK is amongst the lowest in Europe. The UK Government recently committed to substantial increases in tree planting, including pledging to plant 30,000 ha of trees per year by 2025. The supply of native tree seeds underpins these efforts, but seed production in most temperate forest trees varies strongly between years – a phenomenon termed ‘masting’. Masting therefore creates a major challenge for seed suppliers and tree nurseries, and poses a barrier to the UK’s vision for woodland expansion. In this project you will address this using new remote-sensing methods to monitor annual tree seed crops. Combined with fieldwork and other data, you will develop new models forecasting annual seed production to address this fundamental challenge facing future UK treescapes and carbon capture.
Objectives
This project has two overarching objectives. First, you will develop new methods to remotely monitor annual flower and seed production in temperate tree species, deploying drones and using satellite-based observations. Second, you will develop predictive models that combine weather data and observations of flower and seed crops to forecast future seed production in key native tree species.
Novelty and timeliness
Securing native seed supply for woodland expansion is widely recognised as a major barrier to woodland expansion in the UK. An important element of the project will involve you working with existing industry and charity partners to design user-focused annual seed forecasts that are designed to meet the specific needs of the woodland management community.
Person specification
We are looking for someone with a background in ecology and/or remote sensing, and an enthusiasm for fieldwork. Training will be provided in field techniques (including piloting drones), remote sensing, and data analysis. Interested applicants are particularly encouraged to contact the lead supervisor before applying to discuss the opportunities the project offers.
HOW TO APPLY
Notes and details of how to apply are available here: https://accedtp.ac.uk/acce-dtp-phd-opportunities-at-university-of-liverpool/
All applicants to ACCE must complete the ACCE personal statement proforma. This is instead of a normal personal/supporting statement/cover letter. The proforma is designed to standardise this part of the application to minimise the difference between those who are given support and those who are not.
The ACCE DTP is committed to recruiting extraordinary 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 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.
Informal enquiries may be made to [Email Address Removed]
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