PhD Studentship: Soil carbon dynamics following Amazon forest wildfires

Tropical forest soils are crucial to the global carbon cycle, yet increasing wildfire, land-use change, and climate warming may cause large carbon emissions.

This PhD will investigate:

1. how soil respiration responds to post-wildfire conditions across Amazonia, and how soil properties mediate this response;
2. how pyrogenic carbon (PyC, charcoal) additions affect soil respiration dynamics in southern Amazonian soils; and
3. how the JULES land surface model can be improved using novel field and experimental data.

The doctoral researcher will shape the project, lead field experiments in southern Amazonia and advance modelling in collaboration with the UK Met Office. As part of the NERC-funded Amazon Pyrogenic Carbon Project, they will join workshops, access extensive datasets (soil respiration, stable and radiocarbon isotopes, pyrogenic carbon, microclimate) and develop a new soil microcosm experiment.

Training will include tropical field methods, environmental sensors, experimental design and geospatial analysis in R, alongside advanced modelling with JULES. Co-supervisors in Brazil will provide field and logistical expertise, while the Met Office will offer world-class training in modelling and climate impact assessment. This UK-Brazil partnership ensures cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research to improve understanding of climate change and wildfire impacts on the world’s largest tropical forest.

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