Hedges and edges: landscape effects on forest biodiversity and ecosystem function.

森林代表了英国和欧洲大部分地区的原生顶极植被，对它们保护的独特物种和提供的重要生态系统服务的多样性都很重要。森林往往是高度分散的，最近的保护指南认为，更大、更连通的森林块应该是一个目标；然而，这种斑块性对生态系统功能的影响研究甚少。该项目将探索森林斑块大小和隔离的影响，特别是连接特征，如树篱或“踏脚石”，对一组经过充分研究的已知年龄的森林斑块（WrEN项目）的森林专业分类群的生物多样性。也有可能通过种植额外的“实验”林地来扩大这组地点，作为农场林地赠款计划的一部分，以及其他过去的森林种植倡议。将探索遥感数据，以测量连通性，并测试多光谱反射模式与森林树木组成和结构特性之间的潜在联系。此外，将探索森林斑块特性对生态系统功能和服务子集的影响，利用边缘到中心的样带调查来参数化斑块大小和生物多样性对地上和地下碳储存以及水文调节的影响模型。这反过来可以用来探索和模拟生物多样性的尺度特性：生态系统功能关系。监督团队是多学科的，跨越空间生态学和地理学，森林研究中心是一个工业案例合作伙伴。这项工作将提供从实地生物多样性调查、通过遥感和地理信息系统工作到生态系统服务建模等一系列研究技术方面的经验，因此将为从事研究或管理工作提供极好的准备。

Forests represent the native climax vegetation of most of Britain and Europe, and are important both for the distinctive set of species they protect and the diverse range of important ecosystem services they provide. Forests are often highly fragmented, and recent conservation guidance argues that larger and better connected patches should be a goal; yet the effects of this patchiness on ecosystem function are poorly studied. This project will explore the effects of forest patch size and isolation -- and in particular of connecting features such as hedgerows or "stepping-stones" -- on the biodiversity of forest specialist taxa in a set of well-studied forest patches of known ages (the WrEN project). It may also be possible to augment this set of sites with additional ""experimental"" woodlots planted as part of farm woodland grant schemes, and other past forest planting initiatives. Remote sensing data will be explored both to measure connectivity, and to test potential links between multispectral reflectance patterns and forest tree composition and structural properties. In addition, the effect of forest patch properties on a subset of ecosystem functions and services will be explored, using surveys of edge-to-centre transects to parameterise models of patch size and biodiversity effects on e.g. above and below-ground carbon storage, and hydrological modulation. This in turn may be used to explore and model the scaling properties of biodiversity:ecosystem function relationships. The supervisory team is multidisciplinary, spanning spatial ecology and geography, with Forest Research as an industrial CASE partner. The work will provide experience in a range of research techniques ranging from field biodiversity surveying, through remote sensing and GIS work to ecosystem service modelling, and thus will provide excellent preparation for a career in research or management.