Postgraduate Research Students

Estelle Darko is a PhD Candidate in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Her research focuses on the factors that influence forest diversity and how diversity may be linked to forests’ resilience to climate change.

Grace Handy is a NERC CENTA funded PhD student. Her research interests are tree and forest dynamics in response to global change, particularly increases in atmospheric CO2. Her work is based at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (BIFoR FACE) experiment, where she investigates the future of tree carbon allocation, with specific focus on the impact of ...

Novalia is a PhD candidate in Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences focused on root exudates' effect on nitrogen acquisition. 

Seth's research aims to unfold the philosophical foundations of global irrigation models, including their premises, subjectivity, and connection to the real world. Through the DAWN project, he seeks to contribute new knowledge and improve the use of mathematical models as tools for scientific inquiry and policy-making in irrigated agriculture.

Nicholas Lugg is a doctoral researcher in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on monitoring ‘hot spots’ and ‘hot moments’ of nutrient cycling within rural river environments. His work aims to understand how we can manage our river catchments to promote resilience to future disturbance and how enhancing natural processes could ...

Rachel Mailes is a PhD student interested in forest ecology and ecosystem interactions.

Imogen is currently researching the use of birds as bioindicators of plastic pollution in the terrestrial environment. Funded by CENTA (NERC). 

Maria Wagner Jørgensen is a PhD researcher in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Her PhD research focuses on changes in functional diversity of island communities with species extinction and introductions and aims to contribute knowledge to prevent further species loss.