PhD Studentship
Can Agroforestry Reconcile Conflicting Demands For Productivity, Biodiversity Conservation And Delivery Of Ecosystem Services?
University of Reading - School of Agriculture, Policy and Development
Supervisors: Dr Simon Potts & Dr Hannah Jones
Project overview: Farmed landscapes are increasingly expected to deliver multiple goods and services to society. A key challenge is to develop sustainable landscapes which can simultaneously meet the needs of food production, biodiversity conservation and delivery of ecosystem services.
Agroforestry, a land-use system that integrates trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock production, builds on the idea of ecological design to optimise beneficial interactions between the components which can lead to high productivity and provide a wide range of ecosystem services including soil management, microclimate modification, biodiversity support, pest and disease control, nutrient recycling and carbon sequestration. Currently unsupported by agri-environment schemes in England, scientific evidence of the multiple benefits of agroforestry is needed to inform agricultural and environmental policy makers.
New research is needed: (i) to identify which goods and services agroforestry systems can deliver, (ii) to quantify the values of these services (ecologically and economically), (iii) to inform the process of how policy can support these activities.
A partnership between The University of Reading and The Organic Research Centre - Elm Farm ensures extensive opportunities for the student in terms of training and experience that will cross-cut policy, farm business and conservation sectors.
Funding Details: Studentship will cover Home/EU Fees and pay the Research Council minimum stipend (£13,290 for 2009/10) for a period of up to 3 years.
Eligibility: Applicants should hold a minimum of a UK Honours Degree at 2:1 level or equivalent. Please note that due to restrictions on the funding, this studentship is for UK/EU applicants only.
How to apply: Eligible candidates should complete a University of Reading postgraduate application form available from http://www.reading.ac.uk/Study/apply/pg-applicationform.aspx. This should be submitted with supporting documents either to scipg@rdg.ac.uk or to:
Postgraduate Office
Joint Faculty Office for Science and Life Sciences
Geography Building
1 2
University of Reading
PO Box 227
Reading, RG6 6AB
Application Deadline: 31 March 2010 Further Enquiries:Please contact Jonathan Lloyd j.d.lloyd@reading.ac.uk
