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Project properties |
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| Title | MSc thesis or MSc internship: developing peatland restoration monitoring protocol for Irish peatland |
| Group | Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Jose van Paassen, Juul Limpens |
| Examiner(s) | dr. Juul Limpens (PEN), dr. Jose van Paassen (PEN) |
| Contact info | Juul.Limpens@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2023/01/10 |
| End date | 2024/12/01 |
| Description | Background
Peatlands are the world’ champion in storing atmospheric carbon for millennia as long as they remain wet. Once the peat layers become exposed to oxygen, for example after drainage, the stored carbon is lost to the atmosphere, changing the drained peatlands to CO2 sources. To safeguard the huge carbon stores and prevent further CO2 loss to the atmosphere a lot of attention is given to restoring peatlands by rewetting. Also in Ireland there is increasing momentum to rewet and restore the numerous drained and cut-over peatlands. As a result there is increased need to monitor restoration success. Within the context of collaborative multi-stakeholder involvement, a simple monitoring protocol is currently missing however. You will work on developing a peatland monitoring protocol focusing on the location and frequency needed to assess restoration success regarding one, or several of the following aspects: • Integrity of dams & drain blocking • Hydrological functioning • Vegetation composition or ecological changes • Implication for carbon storage • Other variable factors, i.e. meteorological conditions, invasive species, animal movement The monitoring protocol, although primarily aimed at community-led projects, would equally help to inform and accommodate professional and academic post-restoration monitoring frameworks For the thesis you will be working closely with volunteers and stakeholders from the Abbeyleix Bog Project (ABP), who manages a peatland site about 90 km south of Dublin. The ABP is the first community-led project in the country coordinating peatland restoration. All conservation and restoration work on the project is science and evidence-based. As part of your project you will use monitoring data continuously collected since restoration to assess response-times and suitable time frames to further adjust the monitoring. It is possible to combine the analysis of data with a visit or stay near the restoration site in Ireland. For the latter we encourage application for an Erasmus grant to cover travel costs. A brief synopsis of the conservation work at the Abbeyleix Bog Project is available here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bN5Xf-gJCzexX9lI5AcZrFfJxAAwYmsJ/view) |
| Used skills | |
| Requirements | Independent worker, excellent communication skills in English, love for ecological restoration and analyzing data |