Supervisor: Dr Andrea Momblanch
There are around 30 million gardeners in the UK whose combined area of private outdoor space covers over 4,300 km2. Gardens and other domestic outdoor spaces, therefore, represent a major natural resource, which could support wider ecological recovery and resilience. With the growing demands for water resources and increased uncertainty with climate change, improved understanding of how gardeners affect aquatic ecosystems across the landscape is essential.
In this exciting project, in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society, a PhD researcher will use a combination of data analysis, monitoring and modelling to develop an improved understanding of the water balance of domestic gardens and evaluate how the āgreen infrastructureā benefits of gardens can be improved to increase the resilience of aquatic ecosystems. This PhD will suit a student with a hydrology, physical geography, environmental science or similar background, given the monitoring and modelling components. However, depending on the studentās background, training can be provided in soil science, modelling, GIS and remote sensing at Cranfield and/or soil and vegetation monitoring by the RHS Environmental Horticulture team.
