2025-B18 Heathland flammability responses to environmental change

Project highlights

Generate new knowledge of how heathland vegetation responds to changes in environmental conditions through a controlled greenhouse monitoring experiment.

Understand how climatic changes may influence heathland vegetation flammability.

Develop diverse field, laboratory and analytical skills.

Overview

More extreme weather events are being felt across the globe, driven by increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Shifts in regional climate and weather are a critical influence on wildfire occurrence and behaviour, influencing the spread and intensity of burning of vegetation. As we move into new climate extremes, we also face unknown territory in wildfire ignition and spread, and wildfire risk is increasing in ecosystems that have traditionally been considered less vulnerable to extreme wildfires, such as the temperate peatlands and heathlands of northwestern Europe. This means that we need to start building an understanding of how different plant types burn and respond to environmental change.

Plants are the fuel for fires, and plant functions are intrinsically linked to their environment, such that changes in weather patterns, seasonality and periods of drought have the capability to influence both their growth form and biochemistry. These factors are also likely to impact their flammability, which may scale up to influence the ignitability and behaviour of fires in ecosystems. This project will focus on determining how climatic shifts might influence the flammability of temperate shrubland fuels, focusing on two core heathland species: Calluna vulgaris (heather) and Ulex europaeus (gorse).

The aim of this project is to gain an understanding of how heathland vegetation responds to changing environmental conditions by assessing (i) whether heathland vegetation functional (e.g. morphology, phenology) and biochemical traits change under experimental heatwave, drought, and increased CO2 conditions (achieved using an experimental greenhouse), and (ii) whether these altered environmental conditions influence their flammability sufficiently to alter large scale wildfire behaviour (Figure 1). This knowledge is needed to be able to predict future wildfire risk in temperate shrub ecosystems and generate prediction systems. This will aid both land managers and fire and rescue services in preparing for and managing wildfires in these carbon dense and biodiverse ecosystems over the coming decades.

Figure 1: Photographs of a drought shelter field experiment set up in a heathland near Birmingham to simulate drought conditions (a); Experimental burn on a heathland to measure fire behaviour (b); iCone calorimeter used to assess plant flammability properties (c).

Host

University of Birmingham

Theme

Climate and Environmental Sustainability
Organisms and Ecosystems

Supervisors

Project investigator

Nicholas Kettridge ([email protected]) University of Birmingham

Co-investigators

Liz Hamilton ([email protected]) University of Birmingham
Claire Belcher ([email protected]) University of Exeter
Kerryn Little ([email protected]) University of Birmingham
Stacey New ([email protected]) UK Met Office
David Morris ([email protected]) Forestry England

How to apply

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All applications must include the CENTA application form.
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Methodology

The research will consist of three parts: (1) design and implement a controlled greenhouse experiment to grow key heathland plant species under different environmental conditions (heat, drought, heat and drought, increased CO2); (2) collect measurements of plant functional and biochemical traits to monitor plant response to environmental changes; (3) collect greenhouse samples and field samples from heathlands to test the flammability properties of heathland plants at University of Exeter’s Wildfire Lab. You will have the opportunity to contribute to developing an operational UK wildfire behaviour prediction product for land management decision-making in heathland landscapes.

Training and skills

DRs will be awarded CENTA Training Credits (CTCs) for participation in CENTA-provided and ‘free choice’ external training. One CTC can be earned per 3 hours training, and DRs must accrue 100 CTCs across the three and a half years of their PhD.

You will receive training to develop your field work, laboratory analysis, and analytical skills, giving you a desirable, well-rounded skill set for future employment. You will benefit from joining a team of experienced researchers, land managers and technicians across the UK as part of the IDEAL UK Fire project. Collaborations with academic and non-academic partners will help expand your network and training opportunities. Additionally, you will be part of a cohort of new PhDs across Environmental Sciences at University of Birmingham.

Partners and collaboration

Stacey New is a Senior Climate Scientist in the Climate Services Development sector for The Met Office and an expert in fire ecology and fire severity in heathlands. You will have the opportunity to learn from and work with Stacey.

Further details

 Further details on how to contact the supervisor for this project and how to apply for this project can be found here: 

 For any enquiries related to this project please contact Nicholas Kettridge ([email protected]) University of Birmingham. 

 To apply to this project: 

You must include a CENTA studentship application form, downloadable from: CENTA Studentship Application Form 2025.

You must include a CV with the names of at least two referees (preferably three) who can comment on your academic abilities.

Please submit your application and complete the host institution application process via: https://sits.bham.ac.uk/lpages/LES068.htm.   Please select the PhD Geography and Environmental Science (CENTA) 2025/26 Apply Now button. The CENTA Studentship Application Form 2025 and CV can be uploaded to the Application Information section of the online form.  Please quote CENTA 2025-B18 when completing the application form.

 Applications must be submitted by 23:59 GMT on Wednesday 8th January 2025.  

Possible timeline

Year 1

Develop knowledge in the fields of heathland ecology and wildfire risk under climate change. Co-development of research aims, objectives and experimental design based on your own interests and ideas alongside your supervisory team. Set up the greenhouse monitoring experiment.

Year 2

Monitor the response of heathland plants to different treatments and compare these with controls and field collected measurements from heathlands across the country.

Year 3

Analysis of the collected data to answer the research questions proposed and contribute to implementing these findings to address end-user (e.g. policy makers, land managers) needs.