PhD Studentship: Above-below Ground Interactions for Nature Recovery in Coastal Sand Dune Wetlands

Coastal dune wetlands (slacks) are biodiversity hotspots, but they are under threat: habitat loss and deterioration of ecological condition have reduced the quantity and quality of dune slack habitat. Active management facilitates recovery and increases resilience of plant communities to environmental change. In this project you will develop new understanding of how habitat restoration influences aboveground-belowground interactions in dune slack habitats. The impacts of sand dune processes and management on belowground processes are not well known, despite this being key to ecosystem function and resilience. The objectives are flexible to reflect the students interests but may include:

Determine management impacts on below-ground processes (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions) and/or communities (e.g. microbial) through mechanisms such as altered plant nutrient dynamics, litter quality and decomposition.

Determine the contribution of changes in community composition vs species traits on belowground processes e.g. by undertaking selective removal experiments.

Identify, with dune managers and policy makers, ways to integrate below-ground processes into management plans.

This project offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to existing long-term experiments (e.g. Ainsdale Dune Slacks LTE and the global NutNet or DRAGNet) allowing access to roughly 50 years of data. In addition, unique experiments can be developed.

Funding details

The NERC studentship is funded for 3.5 years starting from October 2025 and provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum (in 2024/25) for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK rate and a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £8,000. Further guidance about eligibility is available at UKRI Terms and Conditions. Excellent International candidates are eligible for a full international fee waiver however due to UKRI funding rules, no more than 30% of the studentships funded by this grant can be awarded to International candidates.

Entry Requirements

Applicants will normally need to hold, or expect to gain, at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Ecology, Geography, Biology, Environmental Science, Soil Science or an appropriate Master’s degree.

How to Apply

• Complete a CENTA studentship application form in Word format (available from the CENTA website).
• All applications should be made online via the above ‘Apply’ button. Under programme name, select “Geography and Environment”. During the online application process, upload the CENTA studentship application form as a supporting document. Please quote 2025-LU9 when completing your online application.
• Application closing date is midnight (UK time) on Wednesday January 8th 2025. Interviews for short-listed candidates are expected to be held in the period Monday February 3rd – Friday February 14th 2025.

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