ICARUS (Irish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS), Department of Geography is pleased to announce that a PhD Scholarship will be available for one student intending to commence PhD studies in April/May 2024 or soon after.
We are seeking a PhD Researcher to work on an exciting new project, “Ancient Woodlands Ireland” funded by DAFM and NPWS. The project will combine existing methodologies with novel approaches to deliver an all-island Ancient Woodlands Inventory. The multidisciplinary project will draw on expertise in GIS and remote sensing, paleoecology, contemporary ecology, and history to assess temporal changes in woodland cover in Ireland over the last 400 years. The Ancient Woodlands Ireland project will provide valuable data that can be used to enhance the protection of Ireland’s ancient woodlands and help prioritize sites for ancient woodland restoration.
The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr Helen Shaw and will be trained to use palaeoecological approaches (pollen, spores and a range of other proxies) to validate the presence and species composition of ancient woodland in woodland fragments identified in the project by mapping and historical mapping approaches. The research will use the small woodland hollow approach to ensure local stand-scale reconstructions of past woodland.
The wider team includes researchers at Maynooth Biology and History departments, Teagasc, Dundalk Institute of Technology, together with a number of project collaborators and advisers with woodland interests. The palaeoecological team on this project will include the Task Lead, Dr Helen Shaw, and a Post-Doctoral Researcher with experience in palaeoecology, also funded by the project. The work will also include close working with an existing PhD student.
For further information about the position please visit: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/funding/phd-researcher-ancient-woodland-palaeoecology
Deadline: 23 March 2024