Research Fellow in Tropical Peatland and Forest Mapping

Do you want to expand our understanding of the peatlands and forests of the Congo Basin? Do you have skills in ecosystem mapping? Do you want to further your career in one of the UK’s leading research-intensive Universities?

The Ecology and Global Change research cluster at Leeds conducts world-leading research in tropical ecology and environmental change. We are looking to recruit a highly skilled Postdoctoral Research Fellow to map the wetlands and peatlands of the central Congo Basin, and the wider forests of the Congo Basin.

The successful candidate will contribute to two projects. The first is a large project on the central Congo peatlands, led by UNEP (United National Environment Programme). As part of this project you will lead the production of new maps of the central Congo peatlands for use by policy makers to define areas of peatland for conservation and community use. The mapping will make use of extensive ground data collected over the past decade and publicly-available remotely sensed data. The new mapping will build on the first map of the central Congo peatland (Dargie et al. 2017 Nature) and a more recent update we produced (Crezee et al. 2023 Nature Geoscience).

The second project you will contribute to is the CongoFor1.5 project, which aims to understand the carbon balance and ecology of the forests of the Congo Basin over time. Field data from approximately 400 inventory plot locations, as part of the African Tropical Rainforest Observatory Network (AfriTRON), provide long-term changes in the carbon balance of structurally intact tropical forests. We are looking for a motivated researcher who can assist in producing maps of the carbon dynamics of intact central African forests between 1985 and 2025.

You will join a vibrant team, led by Professor Simon Lewis, and will benefit from the support of UNEP who coordinate the Congo Peatlands project, and the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), who fund the CongoFor1.5 project.

You will be responsible for producing updated landcover and carbon (above- and below-ground) maps of the central Congo peatlands and assist in the production of maps of the carbon dynamics of the forests of the whole Congo Basin. The maps should be a step up in accuracy from previous landcover and carbon maps due to increased field data, satellite data, and analytical tools. The expectation is that the mapping will be done using cloud-based mapping tools such as Google Earth Engine or Microsoft Planetary Computer, and it is likely that developments such as satellite data embeddings and GeoAI will offer potential for increasing the accuracy and speed of the development of these maps. Satellite datasets expected to be used will include NASA datasets (GEDI, Landsat, NISAR), ESA datasets (BIOMASS, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2) and potentially JAXA datasets (ALOS-2 PALSAR-2, ALOS-3 PALSAR-4).

This is a desk-based position with no fieldwork. You will work closely with the Leeds-based post-doctoral research fellows who know the relevant field data, one for the peatlands, and one for the terra firme forests, alongside the AfriTRON International Data Officer. The successful candidate is expected to lead on publishing the peatland maps, and to contribute to other high-impact papers, based on the CongoFor1.5 project and their interests.

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the Congo peatlands and CongoFor1.5 projects in other ways, including helping early career researchers in central Africa with analyses. You will be based in the UK, but will interact with colleagues in Central Africa, and will have the opportunity to travel to meetings in Central Africa. You will have excellent remote sensing skills, creativity, a self-starter with a willingness to collaborate, as well as a developing track-record of publishing high-quality papers from your previous research.

What does the role entail?

As a Research Fellow, your main duties will include:

• Producing a third-generation landcover maps of the central Congo peatlands (seasonally inundated swamp forest), using our standard definition of peat, and the now more extensive ground data, newly available space-borne remotely sensed data, and state-of-the-art mapping techniques;
• Producing a map of the central Congo peatlands to the legal specification of peat/peatlands, given by the governments of the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for policy purposes;
• Assist the CongoFor1.5 team in producing maps of the carbon balance of structurally intact terra firme forest in the Congo Basin;
• Publish your work in internationally peer-reviewed journals;
• Contribute to producing regular project update reports for the funders;
• Participate in, and contribute to, project meetings;
• Contribute, as appropriate, to the successful implementation of Congo peatlands and CongoFor1.5 projects;
• Contribute to manuscripts led by other members of the research group.

These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the post.

What we offer in return

• 26 days holiday plus approx.16 Bank Holidays/days that the University is closed by custom (including Christmas) – That’s 42 days a year!
• Generous pension scheme plus life assurance– the University contributes 14.5% of salary
• Health and Wellbeing: Discounted staff membership options at The Edge, our state-of-the-art Campus gym, with a pool, sauna, climbing wall, cycle circuit, and sports halls.
• Personal Development: Access to courses run by our Organisational Development & Professional Learning team.
• Access to on-site childcare, shopping discounts and travel schemes are also available.

And much more!

Additional Information

Working at Leeds 

We are a campus-based community and regular interaction with campus is an expectation of all roles in line with academic and service needs and the requirements of the role. We are also open to discussing flexible working arrangements. To find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Leeds area visit our Working at Leeds information page. 

Our University 

As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students and staff from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Within the Faculty of Environment we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community; those who identify as LGBT+; and disabled people. Candidates will always be selected based on merit and ability. 

Candidate with a disability

Information for disabled candidates, impairments or health conditions, including requesting alternative formats, can be found on our Accessibility information page or by getting in touch with us at hr@leeds.ac.uk 

Criminal Records

A criminal record check is not required for this position. However, all applicants will be required to declare if they have any ‘unspent’ criminal offences, including those pending. 

Any offer of appointment will be in accordance with our Criminal Records policy. You can find out more about required checks and declarations in our Criminal Records information page.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Professor Simon Lewis

Email: s.l.lewis@leeds.ac.uk

How to apply 

You can apply for this role online; more guidance can be found on our How to Apply information page. Applications should be submitted by 23.59 (UK time) on the advertised closing date.