About the Project
Location: University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Exeter EX4 4QJ
Main Information
This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/
Project details
Tropical peatlands store 89 Gt C and are a vital component of the global carbon cycle (Page 2011). The rapid increase in the rate of conversion of tropical peatlands, mostly to oil palm, means that by 2015, 50 % of tropical peatlands had been converted (Miettinen 2016). These conversions result in large emissions of carbon dioxide. It is therefore vital that the oil palm industry improves the management of plantations to reduce their ongoing environmental impact, and to assess the restoration of degraded tropical peatlands. This project aims to determine whether careful control of water-table dynamics can minimize carbon emissions, while increasing oil palm production. Field measurements will be used to tackle fundamental science questions related to how carbon and nutrient cycling are controlled in tropical peat soils, and, through the collaboration with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, the knowledge gained will be used to guide management practices.
Project Aims and Methods
During conversion to oil palm, peatlands are drained. The depth of the resulting water table has been shown to control carbon emissions (Hooijer, 2010). However, data from our study site show that an annual mean water table depth (as used in the Hooijer study) does not capture the actual dynamics. Rather seasonal variations in water table depth (i.e. 0 to 1 m) appear to be important.
The aim of this PhD is to test the hypothesis that reducing annual variation in water-table depth will both reduce carbon emissions from drained peatlands and increase palm oil production. This will be achieved through a linked programme of small and large-scale experiments. The former will focus on manipulating water table depths in peat cores and determining whether constant or fluctuating water-tables result in the greatest emissions, testing fundamental hypotheses related to controls over decomposition in tropical peats. In situ, the project will establish and control sluice gate systems to manipulate water tables. The effects on carbon emission and oil palm production can then be determined. Thus, the project has both fundamental science and applied policy-relevant components, providing great opportunities for publishing high-impact papers and addressing directly a key environmental issue.
CASE or Collaborative Partner
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) will support the PhD studentship through a £1000 per year case award (£3.5k total). They will also provide access to: fieldsites; accommodation; technical support for field work; and state-of-the-art analytical laboratory facilities in Malaysia. This is a well-supported project that represents a unique opportunity for a PhD student to help design large-scale in situ manipulations, rather than simply working within previously established experiments. Links to MPOB will help translate project findings into policy.
Training
The student will receive extensive training in the scientific method, experimental design, and hypothesis testing. In terms of project-specific skills, they will be trained in the use of state-of-the-art methods for making trace gas fluxes and in the elemental analysis of soil and water samples. In Malaysia they will work as part of a team of UK and Malaysian researchers, at times coordinating and leading teams of local Palm Oil Board staff to ensure all samples can be collected and the experiments maintained. The student will also be trained in scientific writing and the presentation of their research.
Funding Notes
“NERC GW4+ funded studentship available for September 2019 entry. For eligible students, the studentship will provide funding of fees and a stipend which is currently £14,777 per annum for 2018-19.
Eligibility;
Students from EU countries who do not meet the residency requirements may still be eligible for a fees-only award but no stipend. Applicants who are classed as International for tuition fee purposes are not eligible for funding.”
References
Hooijer A, Page S, Canadell JG, Silvius M, Kwadijk J, Wosten H, Jauhiainen J (2010) Current and future CO2 emissions from drained peatlands in Southeast Asia. Biogeosciences, 7, 1505-1514.
Miettinen J, Shi C, Liew SC (2016) Land cover distribution in the peatlands of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo in 2015 with changes since 1990. Global Ecology and Conservation, 6, 67-78.
Page SE, Rieley JO, Banks CJ (2011) Global and regional importance of the tropical peatland carbon pool. Global Change Biology, 17, 798-818.