Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/J016934/1
[Resource] Designing Tropical Forests of the Future to mitigate Climate Change
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor SL Lewis, University College London, Geography
- Grant held at:
- University College London, Geography
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- None
- Abstract:
- This project will be a CASE project in collaboration with staff at Permian Capital Limited, led by Dr Henrietta Boyd. Managing the carbon content of the land surface to mitigate the impacts of climate change has climbed the international political agenda over recent years. A new focus is on enhancing existing forest carbon stocks and afforesting/reforesting degraded and abandoned tropical lands as the UN scheme to manage tropical forest carbon, termed REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) now allows payments for carbon stock enhancement and not merely avoided losses from reducing deforestation. Such a focus on enhancement could have global benefits, with recent 'back of envelope' calculations suggesting up to 200 Pg C could be removed from the atmosphere. Furthermore, the relative simplicity of increasing carbon storage being monetised via carbon credits makes forest restoration attractive to the private sector. However, two major outstanding overarching questions remain. Firstly, how much carbon can realistically be removed from the atmosphere by enhancing the carbon storage within degraded and abandoned tropical lands, and secondly, how to design what will be millions of hectares of new tropical forest. Together with CASE partner Permian, a private company who invest in large-scale forest conservation projects to sequester carbon, we propose to quantify the limits to carbon sequestration in degraded tropical lands and investigate the interventions that define the speed and shape of tropical forest recovery, to contribute to the Permian goal of producing self-sustaining biodiverse forests that are resilient to future perturbations. The student will (1) Quantify the relationship between the severity of landscape degradation and time of recovery, and how the shape and speed of recovery is modified by differing management interventions by systematically reviewing and synthesising the research literature. (2) Quantify realistic estimates of carbon uptake across degraded lands by combining diverse existing datasets, and (3) Undertake two case studies to collect new data to determine the carbon uptake trajectory of forest restoration projects. The expected outputs are (1) Estimates of the increase in carbon storage under passive regeneration compared to management interventions, (2) carefully refined pan-tropical estimates of the limits to carbon uptake in degraded tropical lands, and (3) assisting Permian with designing their management and monitoring of two restoration landscapes. Permian will provide #2k/yr, and provide logistical and other support for the 2 x 3 month placements on Permian restoration landscapes. The UK-based supervisor and Permian will ensure that the project outputs include not only world-class science but also have specific management relevance. The successful candidate will have a background in ecology, with some tropical fieldwork experience, and will be motivated to pursue a career in ecology or conservation. The student will obtain training in understanding the global carbon cycle utilising a variety of techniques, forest ecology, restoration ecology, and gain experience in undertaking research in both academic and commercial settings, alongside overseas fieldwork experience in Brazil and Indonesia with Permian. The interdisciplinary nature of this project will provide the student with skills that will be of value to their future career.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/J016934/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Open CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £83,476
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|
| £13,812 | £14,380 | £55,285 |
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