PLEASE NOTE: Application deadline date 08 Jan 2024. Applications are no longer being accepted for this project
Project Overview
This project explores the impact of nutrient deposition on long-term carbon storage in Holocene/Anthropocene peatlands by comparing near-pristine localities in Newfoundland with impacted counterparts in Wales. The approach will be interdisciplinary, integrating documentary archives with palaeoecological analyses (including ancientDNA) and peat geochemistry to create high-quality evidence for peatland conservation.
Project Description
Reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require a major effort to maintain and restore the carbon storage capacity of natural/semi-natural ecosystems, as well as measures to decarbonise industrial economies. Peatlands are some of the highest density terrestrial carbon stores and therefore their careful management must be part of the carbon management solution. Exploitation and pollution can threaten the critical role that peatlands play in regulating climate by disrupting peat carbon stores. This project will study how peatlands accumulate and store carbon in near- pristine wilderness regions and in landscapes with a long history of farming to understand how deposition of plough-dust and major plant nutrients alter carbon cycling.
Scientific understanding of peatland carbon cycling is still poorly developed and not routinely included in Earth systems models. Most importantly, we do not fully understand how deposition of nutrients/pollutants impacts on long-term peatland carbon storage capacity. Modern measurement of peatland gas fluxes can provide insights into current carbon cycling processes, but they do not show how carbon is transferred to long-term storage.
The successful candidate will: (1) design a programme of research to test the interactions between nutrients, pollutants, and long-term peatland carbon dynamics. (2) develop and undertake coring/sampling expeditions to Newfoundland and West Wales (3) receive training in radiocarbon dating at NERC Radiocarbon facility (4) undertake microprobe analysis in Edinburgh (5) collaborate with Natural Resources Wales and Environment-and-Climate-Change Canada.
The project’s impact will be to (1) improve knowledge of peatland carbon – nutrient interactions (2) provide an improved evidence base for managing peatland carbon stores.
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted in the School of Geography and Environmental Science. Specific training will include:
- Fieldwork training (including peat coring and remote health and safety)
- Identification of plant macrofossils and pollen/spore types
- aDNA preparation and analysis of data
- Geochemical sample preparation, analysis and interpretation
- AMS radiocarbon dating and age modelling
- Introduction to programming in R (for data analysis)
(1) Charman, D. J. Amesbury, M. J., Hinchliffe, W., Hughes, P. D. M., Mallon, G., Blake, W. H., Daley, T. J., Gallego-Sala, A. V. and Mauquoy, D. (2015) Drivers of Holocene peatland carbon accumulation across a climate gradient in northeastern North America. Quaternary Science Reviews, 121, 110 – 119. (Gold Open Access)
(2) Hughes, P. D. M., Roland, T. P. and Mauquoy, D. (2014) Peatlands and carbon credits: natural and anthropogenic threats to the carbon stock. Carbon Management, 5, 259 - 263. (Gold Open Access)
