Quantifying and understanding tropical peatland spatial distribution and carbon storage in Central Africa

大量的轶事证据表明，撒哈拉以南非洲可能包含大面积的泥炭地，是英国泥炭地的几倍，刚果盆地的泥炭厚度报告为30-60米。如果正确的话，这表明这些地区，按面积计算，是世界上碳储量最密集的地区之一。因此，发现和量化这些泥炭地中储存的碳，以及对其范围和分布的环境控制，对于以下方面至关重要：(1)提高我们对非洲碳循环的理解，从这个角度来看，非洲是了解最少的大陆；(2)模拟未来气候变化的影响；(3)管理这一资源。此外，对以前未知和/或未量化的泥炭矿床的描述可能为中非政府和当地人民提供直接利益，因为他们可以获得减少土地利用变化造成的碳排放的付款。就减轻世界上收入最贫穷的地区之一的贫困而言，这有可能产生明显的社会影响。因此，该项目将描述、绘制和量化整个刚果共和国的泥炭地及其碳储量。该项目是与CASE的合作伙伴刚果野生动物保护协会（Wildlife Conservation Society-Congo）共同开发的，该协会是刚果最大的非政府保护组织，与刚果政府共同监督和管理刚果280万公顷的森林和湿地栖息地，其中可能包括主要的泥炭矿床（最近估计储存2.4 Pg C）。该项目可能使政策框架研究成为可能，因为目前大多数关于生态系统服务支付的讨论都没有考虑到地下碳储存，而通常wcs -刚果不具备单独进行这些研究的专门知识。学生将(1)利用遥感产品和当地的实地知识来确定最有可能积累泥炭的地区，(2)实地考察其中一些地区，以发现泥炭的存在数量并描述上覆植被的特征，(3)将遥感和实地数据结合起来计算所考察地点的碳储量。(4)利用这些数据预测有利于泥炭发生和积累的当地地理条件和环境关系，然后估计刚果各地wcs管理地区的位置和总碳储量。成功的候选人将具有土壤科学、生态学或地球观测方面的背景，会说法语，并有动力从事生态学或环境保护方面的职业。wcs -刚果将提供2500英镑/年的支持，以及在刚果布拉柴维尔的办公场所和其他设施。此外，他们将提供进入实地地点的机会，协助评估遥感数据，培训考察管理和执行，并将使学生接触中非基于科学的实际保护管理。驻英国的监督者和wcs -刚果将确保项目产出不仅包括世界级的科学，而且具有具体的管理相关性。该学生将受益于五位导师，三位在利兹，专门研究非洲碳动力学（Lewis）、泥炭生态学（Lawson, Baird）、非洲景观管理（CASE Partner Telfer）和热带泥炭地（Page，莱斯特大学），他们总共发表了150多篇论文，其中7篇发表在《科学/自然》杂志上。该项目提供了一整套极好的学生培训，包括实地、实验室和建模工作，除了在中非发展实际的保护管理经验之外，还能够发展一套广泛的技术技能。这个项目的跨学科性质将为学生提供对他们未来的科学事业有很大价值的技能。

Largely anecdotal evidence suggests that sub-Saharan Africa may contain large areas of peatlands, several times the extent of those in the UK, with peat thickness reports of 30-60 m in the Congo Basin. If correct, this indicates that these areas, on a per area basis, are some of the world's densest carbon stores. Discovering and quantifying the carbon stored in such peatlands, and the environmental controls on their extent and distribution, is therefore critical to (1) improving our understanding of carbon cycling in Africa, the least well-understood continent from this perspective, (2) modelling future climate change impacts and (3) managing this resource. In addition, the description of previously unknown and/or unquantified peat deposits may provide direct benefits for Central African governments and local people in the form of access to payments to reduce carbon emissions from land-use change. This has the potential to have a clear societal impact in terms of alleviating poverty in one of the world's most income-poor regions. Therefore the project will describe, map and quantify the peatlands and their carbon storage across the Republic of Congo. The project has been developed with the CASE partner Wildlife Conservation Society-Congo, the largest conservation NGO in Congo, who monitor and co-manage, with the Congolese government, 2.8 million ha of forest and wetland habitat in Congo, which is likely to include major peat deposits (storing 2.4 Pg C by one recent estimate). The project enables possibly policy-framing research - as belowground carbon stores are currently not considered in most discussions of payments for ecosystem services - that ordinarily WCS-Congo would not have the expertise to undertake alone. The student will (1) utilise remote sensing products and local on-the-ground knowledge to identify the most likely areas of peat accumulation, (2) visit some of these in the field to discover how much peat exists and characterise the overlying vegetation, (3) combine remotely sensed and field data to calculate the carbon stored in the visited sites, (4) utilise this data to prediction the local geographic conditions and environmental relationships that favour peat genesis and accumulation to then estimate the locations and total carbon stored in WCS-managed areas across Congo. The successful candidate will have some combination of a background in soil science, ecology, or earth observation, speak French and will be motivated to pursue a career in ecology or conservation. WCS-Congo will provide support of £2.5K p/a, office space and other facilities in Congo-Brazzaville. Additionally they will provide access to field sites, assistance in the assessment of remote sensing data, training in expedition management and execution, and will expose the student to practical science-based conservation management in Central Africa. The UK-based supervisors and WCS-Congo will ensure that the project outputs include not only world-class science but also have specific management relevance. The student will benefit from five supervisors, three at Leeds, specialising in African carbon dynamics (Lewis), peat ecology (Lawson, Baird), African landscape management (CASE Partner Telfer), and tropical peatlands (Page, University of Leicester), who collectively are the authors of over 150 papers, including seven in Science/Nature. The project provides an excellent package of student training, incorporating elements of field, laboratory and modelling work, enabling the development of a broad suite of technical skills in addition to practical conservation management experience in Central Africa. The interdisciplinary nature of this project will provide the student with skills that will be of great value to their future scientific career.