The impact of Rewilding on aboveground carbon sequestration

The relentless pace of Climate Change has triggered a race to devise effective ways to mitigate Climate Change by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Rewilding, a form of nature restoration that aims to restore ecosystems by enhancing natural processes, has the potential to contribute to these mitigation efforts via aboveground and/or belowground carbon sequestration (e.g. in the vegetation and the soil). Yet, we still lack estimates on how much carbon can be captured through rewilding in different ecosystem types and how this changes as rewilding progresses.

What

In this project we will evaluate how rewilding impacts on aboveground carbon sequestration in riverine floodplain open-mosaic forests. Briefly we will:

• gather aerial images of the development of vegetation in in a network of rewilded areas
• calibrate these images with data from the field to estimate aboveground carbon stocks
• investigate how these have changed over time as rewilding develops

The student will have the opportunity to interact with a larger team of students at NIOO working on “sister projects” trying to understand the impact of rewilding on biodiversity, Climate Change mitigation & adaptation.

When

The project will be developed over the coming 6 months (roughly April to September 2024)

Where

Gelderse Poort (a charismatic rewilding site close to Nijmegen)

For who

This project is suitable for an MSc thesis and/or internship, and its primarily desk-based though might involve some fieldwork (negotiable). A good candidate must show:

• interest in applying remote sensing techniques for ecosystem restoration
• experience in GIS, remote sensing and/or the analyses of aerial images
• ability work in a team & interest in collaborating with international partners
• experience or interest to learn some basic statistical analyses
• availability during spring/summer months for developing the project (flexible dates)
• at least some basic level of English