Forests play a crucial role in preserving habitats and the environment, as well as in sustaining local communities due to the diversity of ecosystem services they provide (i.e., economic, social, environmental, cultural, etc.). At the same time, climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme events (e.g., drought, fire, etc.), threatening forest ecosystems functionality and productivity, especially in Mediterranean areas. In this context, it is urgent to recognize the challenges that forests are facing and to identify innovative solutions for making forests more resilient to climate change.
Sustainable management practices can play an important role in adapting forests to climate pressures by preserving, at the same time, the delivery of associated ecosystem services. Understanding barriers (economic, structural, cultural) and opportunities in adopting sustainable management practices (including Nature Based Solutions), as well as associated ecosystem services, can help in identifying innovative solutions to be potentially adopted by local communities and governments. Such understanding will support the development of guidelines/policies for sustainable forest management.
Candidates should demonstrate skills in environmental and social science. They should also be capable of using different methods and software for collecting and elaborating qualitative and quantitative data, dialoguing with local communities, and have interest in artificial intelligence methods.
For this scholarship it is mandatory a period of research abroad of 6 months.
The PhD student will be based at the University of Sassari, the Laboratory of Agrometeorology and Ecophysiology. The laboratory consists of a team of experts, including specialists in agriculture and forest systems, ecophysiologists, agrometeorologists, and experts in climate change impact and risk assessment. Our team is comprised of experienced senior scientists and young researchers, postdocs, and PhD students, along with researchers from UNISS and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change Foundation (CMCC). All resources for carrying desk and on-field work will be provided. The student will collaborate with external teams involved in ongoing projects at UNISS and CMCC.