2025-LU9 Above-below ground interactions for nature recovery in coastal sand dune wetlands

Project highlights

Research on the of the rarest habitats in Europe, a UK wetland priority habitat which is a focus of nature recovery.
Opportunity to shape the project to your interests but focusing on interactions between ecological processes above and below-ground.
Work on internationally important long-term ecological experiments (50 years of data).

Overview

Coastal dune slacks are highly biodiverse wetland habitats and a UK conservation priority. They support charismatic priority species such as Natterjack Toads and Orchids and provide a range of ecosystem services. But coastal dune slacks are under threat: habitat loss and deterioration of ecological condition have reduced the quantity and quality of dune slack habitat. Active management such as conservation grazing facilitates recovery and increases resilience of plant communities to environmental change, but we still don’t have a full understanding of other ecological processes and patterns. In this project you will develop new understanding of how habitat restoration influences aboveground-belowground interactions.

Coastal dune slacks are dynamic systems where conservation management usually involves altering successional trajectories through managed grazing, mowing and remobilisation of sand. The impacts of these processes and management on belowground processes are not well known, despite this being a key component of ecosystem function and resilience. Grazing is likely to have direct and indirect effects on plant-soil interactions, as animals are selective in their grazing behaviour. This selective behaviour will also result in local changes to the soil environment and nutrient composition. We would expect these impacts to translate belowground, where they might alter microbial composition and soil structure, affecting rates of decomposition, nutrient transformation, and greenhouse gas emissions.

This project offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to existing long-term experiments (e.g. Ainsdale Dune Slacks LTE and the global NutNet or DRAGNet) allowing access to roughly 50 years of data. In addition, unique experiments can be developed.

The aim is to investigate how management impacts on above-belowground interactions in dune slack habitats. The objectives are flexible to reflect the students interests but may include:

Determine management impacts on below-ground processes (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions) and/or communities (e.g. microbial) through mechanisms such as altered plant nutrient dynamics, litter quality and decomposition.
Determine the contribution of changes in community composition vs species traits on belowground processes e.g. by undertaking selective removal experiments.
Identify, with dune managers and policy makers, ways to integrate below-ground processes into management plans.

Figure 1: Herdwick Sheep grazing a dune slack at Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve.

Host

Loughborough University

Theme

Climate and Environmental Sustainability
Organisms and Ecosystems

Supervisors

Project investigator

Jonathan Millett, Loughborough University, [email protected]

Co-investigators

Maud van Soest, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, [email protected]
Helen Glanville, Loughborough University, [email protected]
Ciara Dwyer, Lund University, Sweden, [email protected]
Aidan Keith, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, [email protected]

How to apply

Each host has a slightly different application process.
Find out how to apply for this studentship.
All applications must include the CENTA application form.
Choose your application route

Methodology

These methods are indicative, and the actual approach will be finalised with the student. This project is expected to use one or both existing long-term experiments. Ainsdale Dune Slacks Long Term Experiment was established in 1974 and is one of the longest-running ecological experiments in the UK. Ainsdale Dunes Slacks Disturbance Recovery Experiment was established in 2021 and comprises manipulation of disturbance consists of reducing disturbance through grazing exclusion or direct disturbance of the soil. These plots are respectively part of the NutNet and DRAGNet global research networks.

This project will involve measuring plant (e.g. traits and/or communities) and soil (e.g. structure and/or biodiversity) processes within plots in one or both experiments, plus potentially plots at additional sites along environmental gradients. The project may also involve manipulating plant communities in the Ainsdale Dunes Slacks Disturbance Experiment through selective removal, to measure plant and soil responses and could include use of GIS.

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.

This project will provide a fantastic platform to gain multidisciplinary training, including in experiment development, greenhouse gas measurement, plant surveys, plant community analysis and soil science methods. The candidate will join the vibrant research communities at Loughborough University and UKCEH, where they can network with colleagues and peers. They will have the opportunity to present their results at the annual Loughborough and UKCEH conferences plus at least one international research conference. The candidate will be encouraged to disseminate their results to stakeholders such as Natural England at the study sites. Undertaking a NERC PhD offers opportunities to undertake fellowships with UKRI.

Partners and collaboration

This project will involve working closely with the Natural England team at Ainsdale Dunes NNR and may involve working with other organisations involved in dune management (e.g. National Trust, Natural Resources Wales). There is also the opportunity to work with our international collaborators.

Further details

For further information about this project, please contact Dr Jon Millett ([email protected]) or Dr Maud van Soest ([email protected]).

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://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/research-applications/ The CENTA Studentship Application Form 2025 and CV, along with other supporting documents required by Loughborough University, can be uploaded at Section 10 “Supporting Documents” of the online portal. Under Section 4 “Programme Selection” the proposed study centre is Central England NERC Training Alliance. Please quote CENTA 2025-LU9 when completing the application form.

For further enquiries about the application process, please contact the School of Social Sciences & Humanities ([email protected]).

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

Possible timeline

Year 1

Literature review; introduction to sampling techniques; finalisation of research questions and approaches. Summer – first fieldwork season (year 1 measurements).

Year 2

Laboratory analysis; second field work season (year 2 measurements); conference in the UK.

Year 3

Continuation of lab work; if required last field work at the start of year 3; international conference; Focus on thesis submission and defence.

The student will be encouraged to work on the thesis and manuscripts throughout the duration of the project.