What we plant and how we manage our gardens can have a significant impact on the environment. Domestic gardens cover up to 30% of UK urban areas, and recent research has linked garden plant characteristics (in terms of their structure and function) with provision of key ecosystem services. Using garden plants with specific environmental benefits could reduce risks posed by extreme weather (such as droughts, floods and heatwaves) while increasing the sustainability of urban spaces. Solid scientific evidence that brings together information on how green space planting choice influences the local climatic conditions, and the delivery of multiple environmental benefits, now and in the future, is much needed. It would inform the advice that organizations such as the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) provide the UK gardening public to help them maximize beneficial ecosystem services, whilst minimizing environmental risks.
In this project the student will investigate the following research questions:
I. How will plant choice and plant management affect the water- and energy balance of plant types (forbs, grasses, hedges and solitary trees) that are currently pervasive in domestic UK gardens
II. What are the implications of these plant choices for a range of ecosystem services (e.g., cooling, runoff reduction), and ecological benefits such as micro-climate refugia, increased biodiversity and associated service provision (e.g., pollination services)
III. What are the trade-offs between these various services and benefits?
IV. Based on these findings, what recommendations can be made to UK gardeners in the context of climate change adaptation?
Anne Verhoef, Tijana Blanusa and Deepa Senapathi talk about this project on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EyqIxIvtNww
Training opportunities:
The student will be trained in process-based modelling in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system as well as on the theory behind techniques used for the environmental monitoring of garden plants and how plant structural and functional parameters are obtained. You will also receive training on the intricacies of the interactions between habitat, climate and plant-pollinator interactions.
RHS as a CASE partner will provide extended opportunities to the student, including access to the data of their My Garden App, participation in the annual RHS Student symposium and science lecture, and the ability to showcase the findings of the project on one of the RHS Flower Shows. There will also be opportunities to receive RHS Media training on science writing for non-scientific audiences and to publish a summary of the findings in RHS publications. There is also the possibility of a 1-month secondment to RHS Education or Communities Department.
Student profile:
Applicants should hold or expect to gain a minimum of a 2:1 Bachelor Degree, Masters Degree with Merit, or equivalent with, a background in environmental science, or a background in mathematical modelling but with an interest in applying this knowledge to environmental science. Students with additional knowledge of soil science, botany or plant community ecology would be particularly well placed to take on this research topic.
We will also consider candidates with different academic paths but with experience acquired from a research position, or equivalent, that is relevant to the topic of the PhD project.
To apply, please follow the instructions at https://research.reading.ac.uk/scenario/apply/
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