Nature recovery in the European palaeoecological record

FYFE_P25ARIES

Nature recovery in the European palaeoecological record

FYFE_P25ARIES

Project Description

Supervisors

Professor Ralph Fyfe, Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (SoGEES), University of Plymouth – contact me

Dr Jessie Woodbridge, University of Plymouth, SoGEES

Professor Stephen Shennan, University College London, Institute of Archaeology

 

Scientific background

The recovery of nature is a pressing global issue. Nature recovery is difficult to predict, and different recovery strategies are implemented from tree planting to diverse forms of rewilding. Across Europe, humans transformed the vegetation of the continent through forest clearance for agriculture over millennia [1,2]. However, within that long-term transformation, multiple major population collapses occurred, in prehistory and the historic period. These collapses offer unparalleled opportunities as ‘long term’ experiments to understand natural nature recovery: reductions in population and land use pressure should result in ecological change [3]. This PhD project will develop detailed long-term data using palaeoecology and archaeology to assess past ecological recovery, using pandemics as disrupters to past human systems.

Research methodology

The project will focus on two time periods: the early Neolithic, and the medieval Black Death. The first has been characterised by “boom-and-bust” cycles of population growth and collapse [5], likely driven by plague [4]. The Black Death removed up to 50% of the population of Europe, with different impacts across the continent [3]. This project will therefore provide a critical assessment of how ecosystems adapted and responded to associated reductions in land-use pressure, focussing on recovery and resilience (do systems return to pre-existing conditions or states?), temporality (what sort of timescales do systems change or regenerate over) and stability (can, or do, systems reach equilibrium states?). The project will analyse the nature of pre-pandemic land use and economic/ecological systems, drawing on the archaeological/historical literature, to understand how landscape preconditioning influences recovery.

Training

The supervisory team will provide training in pollen analysis, multivariate statistics, and demographic modelling using archaeological radiocarbon dates. You will attend training courses on vegetation, climatic and modelling. You will learn to use a range of programmatic approaches to integrate and analyse diverse datasets. The project will involve analyses of existing databases, and training will be provided in working with open palaeoecological and archaeological data.

Person specification

We seek an enthusiastic individual with a 2:1 degree grade or above within Geography, Environmental Science, archaeological science or related disciplines.  Experience of palaeoecology, long-term ecology or environmental archaeology is desirable.

Acceptable first degree subjects: Geography, Environmental Science, Archaeology, and related disciplines.

References

  • Fyfe RM, Woodbridge J and Roberts CN (2015) From forest to farmland: pollen-inferred land cover change across Europe using the pseudobiomization approach Global Change Biology 21, 1197-1212 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12776
  • Githumbi E, Fyfe RM, Gaillard MJ, Trondman AK, Mazier F, Nielsen AB et al (2022) European quantitative pollen-based land-cover reconstructions for the Holocene: methodology, mapping and potentials Earth System Science Data 14, 1581-1619 https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1581-2022
  • Izdebski A, Guzowski P, Poniat R, Masci L, Palli J, Fyfe R et al (2022) Palaeoecological data indicates land-use changes across Europe linked to spatial heterogeneity in mortality during the Black Death pandemic Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6(3), 297-306 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01652-4
  • Seersholm FV, Sjögren KG, Koelman J, Blank M, Svensson EM, Staring J et al (2024) Repeated plague infections across six generations of Neolithic Farmers. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07651-2
  • Shennan S, Downey SS, Timpson A, Edinborough K, Colledge S, Kerig T et al (2013) Regional population collapse followed initial agriculture booms in mid-Holocene Europe. Nature communications 4, 2486. http://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3486

Key Information

  • This studentship has been shortlisted for funding under the UKRI NERC DLA funding scheme and will commence on 1 October 2025. The closing date for applications is 23:59 on 8th January 2025.
  • Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend (£19,237 p.a. for 2024/25) and research funding. A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university. Please note however that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.
  • ARIES postgradute researcher (PGRs) benefit from bespoke graduate training and ARIES provides £2,500 to every student for access to external training, travel and conferences, on top of all Research Costs associated with the project. Excellent applicants from quantitative disciplines with limited experience in environmental sciences may be considered for an additional 3-month stipend to take advanced-level courses.
  • ARIES is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion in all areas of its operation. We encourage enquiries and applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender status. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience, and our recruitment process considers potential with the same weighting as past experience.
  • All ARIES studentships may be undertaken on a part-time or full-time basis. International applicants should check whether there are any conditions of visa or imigration permission that preclude part-time study. All advertised project proposals have been developed with consideration of a safe, inclusive, and appropriate research and fieldwork environment with respect to protected characteristics. If you have any concerns please contact us.
  • For further information, please contact the supervisor. To apply for this Studentship follow the instructions at the bottom of the page or click the 'apply now' link.
  • ARIES is required by our funders to collect Equality and Diversity Information from all of our applicants. The information you provide will be used solely for monitoring and statistical purposes; it will remain confidential, and will be stored on the UEA sharepoint server. Data will not be shared with those involved in making decisions on the award of Studentships, and will have no influence on the success of your application. It will only be shared outside of this group in an anonymised and aggregated form. You will be ask to complete the form by the University to which you apply.
  • If funded under the BBSRC-NERC DLA scheme, ARIES studentships will be subject to UKRI terms and conditions. Postgraduate Researchers are expected to live within reasonable distance of their host organisation for the duration of their studentship. See https://www.ukri.org/publications/terms-and-conditions-for-training-funding/ for more information

Apply Now

Apply now via the  University of Plymouth Application Portal