PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
- Soil carbon sequestration is an important process for climate change mitigation.
- Land management strategies can significantly improve soil and tree health as well as their carbon sequestration potential.
- Soil microbial ecology is an important component of soil and tree heatl and facilitate carbon sequestration.
Overview
The City of London Corporation manages a nationally significant portfolio of open spaces including Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, Hampstead Heath, Queen’s Park, West Ham Park, Copped Hall and Patmore’s Field. Through its Carbon Removals Programme, the Corporation is investing in habitat restoration, meadow creation, soil improvement initiatives and woodland resilience measures to support climate mitigation, biodiversity recovery and ecosystem resilience.
Land management practices influence soil microbiology and chemistry, which in turn regulate carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and tree resilience. By understanding these relationships, it is possible to design management interventions that simultaneously enhance carbon storage, biodiversity recovery and ecosystem resilience. However, there remains a significant evidence gap regarding which site-specific land management interventions most effectively improve soil condition, increase carbon sequestration and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
Research Aim
To develop evidence-based land management recommendations that maximise soil carbon sequestration, enhance soil biodiversity, and improve tree resilience across a diverse network of restored meadows, urban parks, wood pasture and forest landscapes. We would like to answer following questions:
- How do different interventions influence ecosystem resilience, tree and soil health?
- Which soil microbial communities and processes are most strongly associated with carbon accumulation, nutrient cycling and ecosystem recovery under various management strategies?
- How can monitoring evidence be translated into practical land management decisions?
This project is a CENTA Flagship Project.
Case Projects
This project offers a CASE studentship
Host
- University of Birmingham
Theme
- Climate and Environmental Sustainability, Organisms and Ecosystems
Supervisors
Project investigator
- Ozge Eyice, o.eyice@bham.ac.uk
Co-investigators
- Sami Ullah University of Birmingham, s.ullah@bham.ac.uk; Heinz Traut, the City of London Corporation, heinz.traut@cityoflondon.gov.uk
How to apply
Each host has a slightly different application process.
Find out how to apply for this studentship.
All applications must include the CENTA application form.
Methodology
Analysis of existing land management strategies and carbon sequestration potential. We will collect soil and tree samples from selected parks, meadows, forests to measure the concentrations of nutrients and biomass. To assess the impact of new land management applications, we will select suitable land and apply experiments with compost tea, plant trees, apply nutrients etc. We will measure the chemical concentrations using gas and ion chromatography.
Diversity and metabolism of the microbial communities in soil and tree ecosytems. We will employ DNA and RNA-based tools (amplicon sequencing, metagenomics and metatranscriptomics) to characterise the microbial community and metabolic pathways in soil and tree samples (e.g. root, leaf etc). We will analyse the changes in the diversity of beneficial microbes, their metabolic pathways and impact on carbon sequestration and soil health.
Overall analysis: We will assess all data and develop practical strategies for land management to increase soil and tree health while increasing carbon sequestration.
Further details and How to Apply
For any enquiries related to this project please contact Ozge Eyice, o.eyice@bham.ac.uk.
To apply to this project:
- You must include a CENTA studentship application form, downloadable from: CENTA Studentship Application Form 2027
- You must include a CV with the names of at least two referees (preferably three) who can comment on your academic abilities.
- Please submit your application and complete the host institution application process via: https://admissions.bham.ac.uk/course-finder-landing-page/?code=LES068 Please select the PhD in School of Biosciences (CENTA) 2027 entry year Apply Now button. The CENTA Studentship Application Form 2027 and CV can both be uploaded to the Personal Statement section of the online form. In the funding section of the online form please select Research Council Funding and then choose Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Please quote CENTA 2027-B03 when completing the application form.
Applications must be submitted by 23:59 GMT on Wednesday 6th January 2027.
