Scholarship details
Study levels
Research and PhD
Student type
Future students
Study area
Science
Eligibility criteria
Academic performance
Citizenship
Australian or New Zealand and International
Application dates
- Applications close
- 17 November 2024
What you'll receive
- You'll receive a stipend scholarship of $33,637 per annum for a maximum duration of 3.5 years while undertaking a QUT PhD. The duration includes an extension of up to six months if approved for your candidature. This is the full-time, tax-exempt rate which will index annually.
- You will receive a tuition fee offset/sponsorship, covering the cost of your tuition fees for the first four full-time equivalent years of your doctoral studies.
- As the scholarship recipient, you will have the opportunity to work with a team of leading researchers, to undertake your own innovative research in and across the field.
Eligibility
You need to meet the entry requirements for a QUT Doctor of Philosophy, including any English language requirements. You must:
- enrol as a full-time, internal student (unless approval for part-time and/or external study is obtained)
- have a first class honours or master degree in ecology or environmental science
- have the capacity to undertake field work in remote locations with basic living conditions. The candidate will undertake field work in Solomon Islands for up to three weeks at a time as a part of a team.
Desirable skills include:
- statistical skills
- using R and/or python
- mapping and satellite imagery and/or data analysis techniques.
How to apply
Apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to a QUT Doctor of Philosophy.
- The first step is to email Professor Helen Wallace, detailing your academic and research background, your motivation to research in this field and interest in this scholarship, and include your CV.
- If supported to apply, you will then submit an expression of interest (EOI) following the advice at how to apply for a research degree.
- In your EOI, nominate Professor Helen Wallace as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship website into question two of the financial details section.
About the scholarship
In this project, you will enhance the understanding of carbon stocks in tropical forests of Solomon Islands by integrating traditional field methods with advanced remote sensing and satellite mapping. The project will provide insights into how logging activities affect carbon storage and improve the accuracy of carbon stock assessments in the Pacific tropical forest region.
The PhD project will be based on the following areas of investigation:
- quantify carbon stocks
- assess carbon stocks in tropical forests across degradation gradients and analyse how land-use changes (e.g. logging, forest restoration activities) influence carbon stocks and carbon sequestration rates
- develop allometric equations and soil carbon models to calculate total carbon stocks.
- map carbon distribution
- use satellite imagery and spatial tools to map distribution of carbon stocks and determine how satellite imagery and remote sensing data can improve the accuracy of carbon stock assessments
- integrate satellite-derived biomass data with field-collected carbon measurements
- investigate the impact of land-use changes on carbon stocks, and how these can be visualised spatially using satellite data
- determine if spatial data can accurately support long-term forest monitoring if land-use changes correlate with carbon stock dynamics.
The student will be part of a $3.5 million project working with communities in the Solomon Islands to restore tropical forests (project: Livelihoods in Forest Ecosystem Recovery (LIFER), funded by ACIAR). The project is aimed at improving our understanding on restoration of deforested and degraded forest landscapes. The project is likely to have a substantial impact on the practice of reforestation and guide policy initiatives. The student will be part of a research team comprising senior Australian, Solomon Island, and German researchers.