Greening cities: biodiversity and ecosystem services associated with street trees, from ecology to planning

OVERVIEW

This PhD project will investigate the role of an iconic but poorly studied system (street trees) for enhancing urban biodiversity and support ecosystem functions (e.g. pollination), and work with relevant stakeholders to enhance policy and planning guidelines.

Background:
Across the world, cities are ever increasing in size, and there is growing interest in urban ecosystems, both in terms of fundamental research and applied practice. While there is substantial information on the ecology of urban green habitats (gardens, parks), little is known about ecosystems dominated by tarmac or concrete. It can be expected that in such environments, communities and ecosystem functions would be impoverished, but how much will depend on local conditions (e.g. area of exposed soil, type of cover, pollution), configuration of the cityscape, and the type of species. For instance, while ground insect diversity might reflect distance from sources (parks and gardens), flying pollinators might depend mostly on the availability of floral resources in the landscape, and their capacity to navigate that environment. To test these effects, street trees are an ideal system. They constitute highly replicated ’green islands’ in a matrix of sealed surfaces (high consistency of planting patterns on individual street segments), but have been so far poorly studied. While they have been shown to have huge benefits for energy use and the wellbeing of urban users, their management is a controversial topic in the UK and rarely includes wider ecological considerations.

Example of questions to address:
Can we detect Species-Area relationships at the base of street trees? What is the functional profile of species colonising street trees, and how is that determined by traits of the trees vs characteristics of surrounding cityscape? How does the diversity of species colonising street trees vary with the composition and configuration of the cityscape? Where do the colonisers of street trees come from, urban gardens or the surrounding country side? How to increase the amount and diversity of floral resources available to urban pollinators? Can all pollinators fly through a city? Can we identify tree planting strategies that maximise biodiversity?

Aguilera et al 2019 Intensive management reduces butterfly diversity over time in urban green spaces Urban Ecosystems 22, 2

Caplat et al. 2016 Looking beyond the mountain: dispersal barriers in a changing world. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 14(5): 261-268

Stelzer et al. 2010 Winter Active Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) Achieve High Foraging Rates in Urban Britain. PLOS ONE 5(3)

Research Information

PhD Supervisors
Information on the research interests and activities of academics in Biological Sciences can be accessed via the School website and the Find a Supervisor facility.

Career Prospects

Introduction
Queen’s postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as the DegreePlus/Future Ready Award, bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally. Career prospects in the biological sciences are exceptionally good. To some extent it depends on the specific topic, of course, but laboratory-based and especially quantitative skills and the proven innovation of a PhD or MPhil are highly sought after. Degrees are very much in demand, both in commercial science and public sector research and development (e.g. drug discovery and development, crop and animal improvements and welfare, sustainable agriculture and resource use, human nutrition and health, animal health, ecological management, food safety and technology, scientific communications, regulation, and many more fields).

Employment after the Course
Graduates have gone on to be professional research scientists, consultants, or hold technical and junior executive positions in commerce and government.

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Graduate
The minimum academic requirement for admission to a research degree programme is normally an Upper Second Class Honours degree in a relevant subject from a UK or ROI HE provider, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University. Further information can be obtained by contacting the School.

International Students

For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements

Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last 2 years).

International students wishing to apply to Queen’s University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen’s University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Find a supervisor

If you’re interested in a particular project, we suggest you contact the relevant academic before you apply, to introduce yourself and ask questions.

To find a potential supervisor aligned with your area of interest, or if you are unsure of who to contact, look through the staff profiles linked here.

You might be asked to provide a short outline of your proposal to help us identify potential supervisors.