Dr E Lines
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Queen Mary University of London is announcing an exciting opportunity for an allocated four-year PhD position in either the Earth Surface Science group in the School of Geography or the Evolution and Development group in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences. The successful candidate will start their project in September 2019 and will participate in training and cohort activities of the London NERC DTP.
The London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership brings together eight of the world’s leading research centres in environmental science. Our partnership provides innovative doctoral training in a multidisciplinary research environment and fosters links between centres of research excellence, spanning NERC’s environmental science remit.
About the Project
Evidence for the impact of climate change on the structure and function of forests across the world is growing. Of particular concern is the growing frequency and severity of droughts in some regions, which can cause crown dieback and ultimately tree mortality. Resilience to, and recovery rates from drought are uncertain and the legacy effects of droughts on individual tree and whole-forest structure may be long lasting.
This project will undertake research into the impacts of historical droughts on tree morphology and stand structure in Spain, a highly biodiverse region where drought is a major control of ecological processes. Under climate change, Spain it predicted to become hotter and drier, so the resilience of Spanish forests to withstand or adapt to this future is a key research question. In this project the student will investigate the impact of drought on the morphology of a range of key species using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), a technology capable of reconstructing three-dimensional properties of trees to very high accuracy. The project will assess long-term impacts of historical drought and ecological ‘memory’ using plots with known drought histories, quantifying impacts on tree structural properties such as branching, leaf area, crown density, biomass and neighbourhood interactions. Building on techniques developed by current PhD student Harry Owen (cohort 3), the student will work closely with Spanish ecologists in Madrid and undertake fieldwork to collect new data using this novel technology.
Policy Impact of Research
Climate change impacts on forests as a natural resources is a critical issue in Spain and this project will provide outputs that can be used to understand the impact on biodiversity and to manage and conserve forests in the future.
For further information about the project, please contact Dr Emily Lines.
Eligibility
Please note: NERC funding is subject to candidates meeting RCUK eligibility criteria and we encourage eligible students from the EU to apply. For details of eligibility please click here: https://london-nerc-dtp.org/apply-to-the-london-nerc-dtp/#eligibility
How to apply
Applicants should include a supporting statement, CV, transcripts and certificates, details of two referees, and indicate the relevant supervisor and project title in the application form. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview in March 2019.
To apply for a studentship being advertised by the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences (SBCS) please click here: https://mysis.qmul.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login?process=siw_ipp_app&code1=RFQM-C1ZF-09&code2=0010
To apply for a studentship being advertised by the School of Geography please click here: https://mysis.qmul.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login?process=siw_ipp_app&code1=RFQM-L8ZM-09&code2=0010&code3=GUEST
Deadline for applicants: Monday 18 March 2019
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