The palaeoenvironmental history of ancient deciduous woodlands in Scotland and Ireland, with particular emphasis on the sub-canopy layers

苏格兰和爱尔兰古代落叶林地的古环境历史，特别强调亚冠层

• 批准号: 2323467
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Aberdeen
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2323467
• 关键词: palaeoenvironmental; history; ancient; deciduous; woodlands

This PhD studentship will apply palaeoecological techniques to investigate long-term changes in the composition and dynamics of ancient broadleaved woodlands in Scotland and Ireland, thereby producing information that will guide the conservation and restoration of these vegetation communities. Woodland re-creation is enjoying a period of heightened attention in Scotland. This is a consequence of both the Scottish Government's Draft Climate Change Plan - which aims for woodland expansion to 21% cover by 2032 - and increased interest in rewilding and reforesting. A range of benefits are anticipated, including richer and more diverse habitats, enhanced landscapes, and improvements to ecosystem services. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction can assist in this process being realised by providing land managers with baseline information about woodland structure and floristics. This is important because much forestry activity focuses only upon the tree species.The research will place particular emphasis upon improving our understanding of the sub-canopy woodland layer. At a national scale, the Holocene history of the canopy-forming native (British and Irish) trees is relatively well known, but there is still a lack of knowledge about the past species and communities that occurred as components of the other layers. The student will use pollen and plant macrofossil analyses, supported by chronologies (14C and Pb-210 dating, and tephrochronology) to reconstruct the long-term (Holocene) ecology of ancient deciduous (i.e. non-Caledonian pine) woodlands. In Scotland, the research will focus upon the oak-dominated woodlands of the lowlands and upland margins of northeastern Scotland (e.g. Aberdeenshire, Banff and Moray) - an area for which very little published palaeovegetational data currently exists - and the mild and wet Atlantic oakwoods of the west coast (e.g. Ardnamurchan, west Argyll), which are highly valued as 'temperate rainforest'. Research in Ireland will focus upon woodlands in the northwest (e.g. Donegal). The methodological approach will be to target sediment archives that hold the potential to provide information at a spatial scale equivalent to the woodland stand(s) under investigation. This studentship will benefit from the involvement of a commercial partner. Botanæco is a leading ecological and botanical consultancy based in Angus, Scotland. The company offers a range of ecological services including advice on native woodland creation and restoration. The student will undertake an internship with Botanæco and will receive field training in the survey, assessment and management of vegetation and habitats, will meet stakeholders involved in woodland management and restoration, and gain experience in environmental consultancy. The supervisory team for the PhD will comprise: Dr Ed Schofield (lead supervisor, University of Aberdeen); Dr Gill Plunkett (Queen's University Belfast); Dr Tim Mighall (University of Aberdeen); Dr Andy McMullen (CASE partner, Botanæco); and Dr Scott Timpany (external, UHI).

这个博士研究生将应用古生态学技术来研究苏格兰和爱尔兰古代阔叶林地的组成和动态的长期变化，从而产生指导这些植被群落的保护和恢复的信息。在苏格兰，林地再造正受到高度关注。这是苏格兰政府的气候变化计划草案的结果-该计划的目标是到2032年将林地覆盖率扩大到21%-以及对重新野生化和重新造林的兴趣增加。预计将带来一系列惠益，包括更丰富和更多样化的生境、景观改善以及生态系统服务的改善。通过向土地管理者提供有关林地结构和植物区系的基线信息，古环境重建可以帮助实现这一进程。这一点很重要，因为许多林业活动只关注树种。研究将特别强调提高我们对树冠下林地层的认识。在全国范围内，形成树冠的原生（英国和爱尔兰）树木的全新世历史相对较为人所知，但仍然缺乏对过去物种和社区的了解，这些物种和社区是其他层的组成部分。学生将使用花粉和植物宏化石分析，支持年表（14 C和Pb-210测年，和火山灰年代学）重建长期（全新世）的古代落叶（即非喀里多尼亚松）林地生态。在苏格兰，研究将集中在苏格兰东北部（如阿伯丁郡，班夫和马里）的低地和高地边缘的橡树为主的林地-一个地区，目前很少出版的古植被数据存在-和温和和潮湿的大西洋橡树的西海岸（如Ardnamurchan，西阿盖尔），这是高度重视“温带雨林”。在爱尔兰的研究将集中在西北部的林地（例如多尼加尔）。该方法将以沉积物档案为目标，这些档案有可能提供与调查中的林地相当的空间尺度的信息。这个奖学金将受益于商业合作伙伴的参与。Botanæco是位于苏格兰安格斯的领先生态和植物咨询公司。该公司提供一系列的生态服务，包括对本土林地的创造和恢复的建议。学生将在Botanæco实习，并将接受植被和栖息地调查，评估和管理方面的实地培训，将与参与林地管理和恢复的利益相关者会面，并获得环境咨询经验。博士的监督团队将包括：博士艾德斯科菲尔德（首席监督员，阿伯丁大学）;博士吉尔Plunkett（女王大学贝尔法斯特）;博士蒂姆Mighall（阿伯丁大学）;博士安迪McMullen（CASE合作伙伴，Botanæco）;和博士斯科特Timpany（外部，UHI）。