The Ecology of Lightning Strikes: How many Trees in Tropical Forests Killed by Lightning? - Geography - NERC GW4+ DTP PhD Studentship

About the award
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 six Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Met Office, 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/

Location: Streatham Campus, Exeter

Project description:
Tropical forests are one of the most important and diverse ecosystems on Earth. However, recent research has revealed an increase in the rate of tropic tree mortality, with the consequence that the strength of the carbon sink provided by tropical forests is reducing (Brienen, 2015). It is therefore vital that we understand why tropical trees die.
We know lightning kills trees (Mäkelä, 2009) and is most powerful and frequent in the tropics (Cecil, 2014). Furthermore, with climate change, lightning strikes are likely to get more powerful and frequent. If all the trees struck by lightning died, it would indicate that lightning was a major factor controlling tropical tree mortality rates and an important control on forest dynamics and structure. However, there is no information on lightning induced tree mortality in the tropics.
Working in tropical forests in Nigeria and Cameroon, you will help address this huge knowledge gap.

Project Aims and Methods
AIMS: You will join an interdisciplinary group of tropical ecologists, physicists and electrical engineers who have been recently funded to undertake the first ever systematic study into lightning induced tree mortality. The team has developed a novel sensor that allows lightning strikes on trees to be studied for the first time. You will join this team and participate in field campaigns at established tropical forest field sites in Cameroon (Korup) and Nigeria (Ngel Nyaki).

Your project will address the following research questions:
Q1: Which trees are more likely to be struck by lightning?
Q2: Which trees are more likely to survive a lightning strike?
Q3: How does lightning influence the ecology and carbon balance of tropical forests?

METHODS: This PhD involves a substantial amount of field work at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s research sites in Ngel Nyaki (Nigeria) and Korup (Cameroon). During your PhD you will be assisting in the installation of sensors and the collection of tree survey data, including allometry, functional traits and forest dynamics. This PhD provides the unique opportunity to work with a world-class research team on a genuinely novel research question of global importance and also ample opportunity to develop your own research interests.

Candidate
This project would suit a candidate with a strong interest in tropical forest and ecology. The candidate should be excited to work in remote field stations in tropical countries for extended periods. A strong background in academic research is required.

Training
The student will be given training opportunities within a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary team, including international field sites and project partners in Nigeria and Cameroon: Ecological measurements, Ecological experimental design, Fieldwork planning and coordination Ecological statistics (including R and Matlab), Scientific writing, Scientific theory, argument and debate, Fieldwork first aid, Science communication skills. The student will be embedded in the Land and Ecosystem Dynamics group in Exeter’s Physical Geography department, and will benefit from our strong collaborative links across the University (fire lab, biomass burning aerosols), and with the Met Office Hadley Centre (in numerical weather prediction, and climate modelling).