Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)

The degradation of natural habitats and farmland undermines efforts to keep global warming below 2°C, and to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. International commitments under the Bonn Challenge seek to 'restore' 350 million hectares by 2030, a goal set in response to a scientific report indicating that 300-400 million hectares of forest needed to be restored to avoid dangerous climate change. While restoration promises to slow climate change, reverse biodiversity loss, and recover soils, 21st century restoration science lacks a joined-up understanding of the effectiveness of different tree planting options.

There is a pressing need to move beyond traditional individual project-level assessments of restoration that may fail to detect complex and larger-scale impacts. This project will conduct novel fieldwork and analysis that explicitly investigates biodiversity and carbon outcomes of the most commonly applied restoration techniques (natural regeneration, tree plantations, and on-farm agroforestry approaches) at large spatial scales. This near-continent-scale integrated programme of research uniquely focuses on wooded savanna and montane ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa, where ~90 million hectares of restoration are planned.

This Postdoctoral Research Associate post reports directly to Professor David Edwards (University of Cambridge), with direct input from co-investigator Professor Casey Ryan (University of Edinburgh). It will tackle two main Objectives: (1) Quantify how restoration has impacted biodiversity and carbon storage across space and time; and (2) Identify the environmental and socio-economic drivers of restoration outcomes and effectiveness. In tackling these two objectives, this project will deliver a step change in our understanding of the likely consequences of continental-scale restoration, increasing the prospect of achieving its ecological and societal potential and meeting global climate and development goals.

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will conduct rigorous field sampling of birds across restoration types and spanning several countries including but not limited to Sierra Leone, Ghana, Rwanda, and Zambia. They will concurrently collect microclimate data. They will deliver high-quality analyses, including biogeographic multispecies occupancy models developed by Professor Edwards' team to project the biodiversity outcomes of different restoration forms across large spatial scales, and publish their findings in leading scientific journals. They will work with a high degree of independence, as appropriate seeking input from Profs Edwards and Ryan, and the wider network of restoration actors and academic collaborators engaged in this research. They will also become a member of the Centre for Global Wood Security and actively engage in this dynamic, international community.

This is a fixed term position for 2 years with potential for a 2-year extension.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click the 'Apply' button above. 

Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.

Please quote reference PD45365 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

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