PhD Studentship : Large Wood in Rivers: Blending Social Knowledge with Large Wood Dynamics in River Restoration Practice, NERC GW4+ DTP PhD Studentship for September 2025 Entry

About the Partnership

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

For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via R.E.Auster@exeter.ac.uk

Project Aims and Methods

Large Wood (LW) refers to trees, logs or branches which, when in-stream, can restore habitat and ecosystem processes in heavily modified river catchments. Yet in human-modified environments, realising the potential will rely upon the actions or participation of riparian land-managers and users, who often consider LW as ‘debris’. 
 
Working with (and as part of) the upcoming transdisciplinary NERC-funded Large Wood Project, which brings together research and industry partners to determine the potential and dynamics of LW as a Nature-based Solution, this PhD will engage with a range of publics and stakeholders to identify how LW in rivers is understood and perceived within and between social groups. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop a social research programme of investigation to learn from the knowledge and expertise of a diverse array of actors, including project partners, landowners and land-users.  
 
The project will identify social barriers and enablers to the use of Large Wood as a Nature-based Solution and, alongside the thesis, will have real-world impact by informing approaches to LW in the study contexts as well as more widely through the development of guidance with the Large Wood Project partnership for the effective integration of LW into practice. 

Project partners

Environment Agency / Natural England / Scottish Environment Protection Agency will provide access to sites; data sharing; supervisory advice; input into steering group meetings. 

Training

The DTP offers funding to undertake specialist training relating to the student’s specialist area of research. 

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