The form, function and vulnerability of urban trees under future climate change

Trees are an integral part of the urban landscape, and deliver a number of important health benefits and ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and storage, cooling through evapotranspiration and natural flood management. Urban trees are subject to a unique combination of environmental drivers, and may respond differently to their rural counterparts.

There is currently a knowledge gap in how different urban tree species respond to these urban stresses, and how they will behave under future climate change. Understanding which tree species are more vulnerable to different environmental and climatic conditions is central to managing a sustainable and resilient urban forest.

This PhD project will use a novel combination of plant physiology, ecosystem modelling and remote sensing methods to understand how the urban environment affects the structure and function of urban trees. Data from a state-of-the-art instrumented tree sensor network (the Urban Tree Observatory) will be coupled with field measurements of leaf-level photosynthesis and hyperspectral reflectance.

Physiological data from field campaigns will be used in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model, to provide species-specific information on how trees are functioning both now and under future climate scenarios. The ideal candidate will have a background in environmental science or plant science, with experience in remote sensing, computer programming or handling large datasets.

The student will be based in the School of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield, with supervisors Dr. Holly Croft and Dr. Jill Edmondson and co-supervised by Dr.

Rebecca Oliver at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and Catherine Nuttgens at The Woodland Trust.