PhD Studentship - Hidden Aquatic Biodiversity of Natural Flood Management Techniques

There is increasing interest internationally in the application of ‘soft engineering’ techniques that work with the natural environment and slow / temporarily store water that would otherwise impact towns and cities as flood peaks, known as Natural Flood Management (NFM). Most research on NFM centered on hydrological modelling and its effectiveness in reducing flood peaks at varying spatial scales. Despite wide application and increasing importance under sustainable environmental schemes, such as Environmental Land Management (ELMs), little is known about the contribution of NFM methods to landscape biodiversity or the motivations for farmers to implement NFM techniques. The student will work with the Environment Agency to identify and quantify the current uptake of NFM techniques under the various schemes available. Contemporary ecological sampling of the NFM waterbodies and adjacent natural waterbodies will be undertaken to characterize their aquatic biodiversity and wider conservation value. Specific factors contributing to their biodiversity value could be examined such as waterbody connectivity, age, spatial scale, land use / buffering and the implementation of restoration / management measures. In addition, they will work with the Environment Agency to understand the factors that influence the uptake of NFM practices by farmers / landmanagers. They will also work with Catchment Sensitive Farming Advisors to integrate biodiversity as a co-benefit of NFM alongside flood risk management in the advice provided to farm holdings.

Entry requirements:

Applicants must already have, or expect to shortly graduate with, a very good undergraduate degree or Master’s degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree) – or an equivalent international qualification from a high ranking university – in a relevant subject. EU and Overseas applicants should achieve an IELTS score of 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each competency.

English language requirements:

Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements. Further details are available on the International website

Funding information:

Studentship type – UKRI through Flood-CDT (flood-cdt.ac.uk). The studentship is for 3.5 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £20,780 per annum plus tuition fees at the UK rate. Due to UKRI funding rules, no more than 30% of the studentships funded by this grant can be awarded to International candidates, but successful International candidates will have the difference between the UK and International tuition fees provided by the University.

How to Apply:

All applications should be made via the 'Apply' button above. Under programme name, select School of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Geography and Environment. Please quote the advertised reference number: FCDT-26-LU5 in your application. This PhD is being advertised as part of the Centre for Doctoral Training for Resilient Flood Futures (FLOOD-CDT). Further details about FLOOD-CDT can be seen at https://flood-cdt.ac.uk. Please note, that your application will be assessed upon: (1) Motivation and Career Aspirations; (2) Potential & Intellectual Excellence; (3) Suitability for specific project and (4) Fit to FLOOD-CDT. So please familiarise yourselves with FLOOD-CDT before applying. During the application process candidates will need to upload:

• a 1 page statement of your research interests in flooding and FLOOD-CDT and your rationale for your choice of project;
• a curriculum vitae giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests;
• academic transcripts and degree certificates (translated if not in English)
• a IELTS/TOEFL certificate, if applicable.

You are encouraged to contact potential supervisors by email to discuss project specific aspects of the proposed project prior to submitting your application. If you have any general questions please contact floodcdt@soton.ac.uk.

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