This is an exciting PhD opportunity combining novel field, analytical and remote sensing techniques to develop an evidence-based strategy for managing fenland peat. The aims of the project are to support the development of sustainable, climate resilient, net zero farming, and to identify alternative management trajectories for the UK lowland peatlands. It is a fully funded NERC - CENTA PhD Studentship for 3.5 years. CENTA is a consortium of Universities and research institutes that are working together to provide excellence in doctoral research training within the remit of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Successful home-fees-eligible candidates will receive an annual stipend, set at £15,609 for 2021/22, paid directly to the student in monthly increments, plus full university fees and a research training support grant (RTSG) of £8,000.
Project Highlights:
· Development and application of novel remote sensing approaches for measuring and monitoring UK lowland peatlands
· Identification of how management can improve sustainability of UK lowland peatlands
· Opportunities for training and gaining experience in a combination of novel field, analytical and remote sensing technologies.
Overview
The Cambridgeshire Fens are a highly fragmented and extensively drained lowland peatland landscape. They cover 4,000 km2 and include large areas used for crop production and grazing, ditches and rivers, unproductive highly degraded peat, small reserves of deeper peat, and areas under active restoration. The Fens, like all UK lowland peatlands, have an important role in climate regulation, acting as both sources and sinks for GHGs. Intact peatlands are an important carbon store, but degraded peatlands now account for 3.5% of total UK GHG emissions. Conventional agricultural production in the Cambridgeshire Fens is worth £1.23 billion per year but is driving continued peat degradation. The highly fragmented nature of these peatlands requires decision-making to reduce risks and enhance climate resilience at a landscape scale.
Potential strategies to enhance resilience range from the adoption of more sustainable grazing, crop, soil and water management practices which will reduce the rates of peat erosion, to wetland crop production, and full restoration. While the benefits of peatland restoration are broadly understood, the merits of widespread adoption of more sustainable, regenerative agricultural practices, and the production of wetland crops on peat are less clear. Sustainable agricultural practices include reduced grazing, conservation (zero) tillage which reduces soil mechanical disturbance, winter cover-cropping (for example rye), and raising water tables, but there has been no systematic assessment of their costs/benefits. Paludiculture trials are ongoing in the region, and may ultimately have the potential to replace conventional agricultural production in some areas, although the economics of scaling operations remain to be clarified. Areas of deeper peat are generally considered to be priorities for restoration/conservation, although ongoing degradation and a lack of up-to-date peatland maps means the location of these areas is often anecdotal, and there are financial implications for farmers.
Key to successful outcomes is the development of cost-effective tools for monitoring ongoing peat loss, and adopting a systematic approach to landscape management that can optimise continued agricultural productivity in suitable areas, while identifying areas appropriate for alternative management trajectories. Ultimately such tools are important in the context of schemes like the IUCN peatland code, which is currently being expanded to lowland peatlands in England and Wales, and due to the potential for trading peatland carbon credits in the near future.
Methodology
The aim of this project is to develop an evidence-based strategy for managing fenland peat to allow sustainable, climate resilient, net zero farming, and to identify alternative management trajectories for the region. The student will 1) assess the suitability of different remote sensing techniques such as Interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Lidar alongside with multisource and multitemporal data fusion techniques to measure peat wastage rates in the Cambridgeshire Fens. This will be validated using existing datasets (e.g., the Lowland Peat Survey) and fieldwork. Using outputs from 1, the student will 2) develop a landscape scale opportunity model, incorporating information on wastage, land use, and future climate impacts such as flood risk and use it to identify optimal management trajectories that enhance reduce wastage for different peatland areas. 3) assessment of trade-offs in terms of economic impacts and effects on wider ecosystem services from changes in peatland management, and incorporate into a tool for visualising impacts.
Entry requirements
Applicants should have at least a 2:1 at UK BSc level or at least a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent in a related discipline.
Start date: October 2022
How to apply
For further information please contact: Name: Abdou Khouakhi Email: [Email Address Removed]
To apply, please follow this link and click “Apply now”.
For general enquiries about this position, including help applying, terms and conditions, etc, please contact: [Email Address Removed], quoting reference number SWEE0165.
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