The Call
The Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) in collaboration with the Forestry Research Institute of Ghanaof the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-FORIG), through the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) project, is offering PhD scholarship and Master’s internship toqualified Ghanaians to carry out research in the area of Forest Carbon Dynamics.
PHD PROGRAMME
The scholarship is available from 2021/2022 Academic year, and for a period of thirty (30)months. The successful applicant is expected to be enrolled into a PhD programme,preferably in the CSIR College of Science and Technology (CCST) or at a recognized University in Ghana.
Project / Research description
Tropical forests are structurally diverse, complex and store large amounts of carbon in biomass and soils with a significant proportion of this being sensitive to changes in biotic and abiotic factors. Even at the local scale, the composition, diversity, structure, topography of tropical forests can vary across small spatial scales with influence on forest carbon dynamics. Understanding what drives this fine-scale heterogeneity in forests is critical to developing conservation strategies that enhancecarbon storage and biodiversity inforests. This research / project will use a 50-ha permanent forest plot at the Ankasa Conservation Area, a wet evergreen forest, that range in altitude from about 15to 300 metres above sea level to develop an understanding of biomass and soil carbon dynamics as a function of slope, aspect, terrain convexity, elevation and nutrient availability, important components of the tropical forest carbon cycle and likely to be sensitive to future climate change.
Minimum requirements
•Candidates must have a Master’s degree in Forestry, Environmental Science, Soil Science or other relevant disciplines.
•Experience in GIS applications would be an advantage.
•Candidates must not be more than 35 years of age by September 2021.
MASTER’S INTERNSHIP
The Internship is available for the current Academic year, and for a period of six (6) months. The successful applicant is expected to complete the Master’s dissertation within 2021.
Project / Research description
Selective logging, which is practiced in tropical countries as a forest management tool, is said to be a major cause of forest degradation in the tropics. Selective logging involves periodic entries into a given area of forest to remove selected commercial timber trees. In Ghana, the policy is to remove 2 to 3 trees per hectareat 40-year intervals. Depending on the tree species, the diameter at breast height (dbh) of the trees should greater than 50 cm. This is supposed to be a low intensity logging, with the aim of causinglittle damage to the residual forest. However, there is considerable uncertainty about the impact on subsequent productivity and biomass carbon stock accumulation.The study will use the Global Ecosystem Monitoring (GEM) plots at the BobiriForest Reserve where some of the plots have been subjected to selective logging.
Minimum requirements
•Candidates must have a First degree in Forestry, Environmental Science or other relevant disciplines.
•Already enrolled in a Master’s programme, preferably at the CSIR College of Science and Technology.
•Candidates must not be more than 30 years of age by September 2021
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
For the PhD programme, applications should contain certified copies of all degree certificates including academic transcripts, a project proposal (not more than 6 pages, with 1.15 spacing), recommendations from two referees (one of whom must be his/her Master’s Supervisor) and CV.
For the Master’s internship, applications should contain certified copies of First degree certificate (and other relevant certificates), first degree academic transcript, current academic transcript, a project proposal (not more than 3 pages, with 1.15 spacing), recommendations from two referees (one of whom must be a lecturer at current Master’s programme) and CV.
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
The completed application with the relevant documents should be sent to the address below before 7th May, 2021.
Prof Stephen Adu-Bredu
Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services
CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana
University P. O. Box 63
Kumasi.
Email: