Tropical Forest Ecology PhD: Combining satellite data and field measurements to assess drought stress and tree mortality risk in the Amazon

Tropical Forest Ecology PhD: Combining satellite data and field measurements to assess drought stress and tree mortality risk in the Amazon

Quick Decision

Promising with material uncertainties. YES-27-G-06 is a genuine October 2027 PhD studentship hosted in the University of Leeds School of Geography. It offers a strong, distinctive research problem: use a functioning southern Amazon drought experiment and detailed plant-water observations to build and test remote indicators of tree stress and mortality risk. The planned bridge from field ecophysiology through UAV imagery to multispectral and hyperspectral satellite data gives the project scientific value and transferable Earth-observation skills. The named supervisors and Brazil-based partner have relevant research backgrounds. (Project overview, David Galbraith, Emanuel Gloor, Marcos Adami)

The programme advertises a 3.5-year full studentship with a stipend, tuition fees and research/fieldwork support; international applicants may compete for up to 30% of awards, and the programme says it covers the international fee difference. The closing deadline is 12 January 2027 at 13:00 GMT. The opening date is unresolved: one official page says applications opened on 2 November 2026, while the detailed instructions and programme homepage say 12 November at 10:00 GMT; the detailed instructions say forms are unavailable before then. Confirm the operational date and application access with YES-DTN before relying on the earlier date. (Join us, How to Apply, Programme home page, FAQ)

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

The Southern Amazon is already warmer and drier than many other Amazon regions, and the project frames it as an important frontier for climate-related tree water stress and mortality. The core challenge is to detect from space the stress that is measured directly at trees and experimental plots, then determine how those signals can be used to assess drought-associated mortality risk at larger scales. This is a concrete gap between physiological measurements at a site and the regional coverage of Earth-observation data. (Project overview, Leeds research summary)

The PhD builds on a NERC-supported rainfall-exclusion experiment in Mato Grosso that began excluding rainfall in October 2024, with a nearby control site without rainfall exclusion. Existing measurements include soil and stem water content, sap flow, leaf water potential, tree growth and mortality. The student is also expected to have access to field spectra, leaf reflectance and monthly drone imagery of canopy temperature and greenness. The project names higher-resolution multispectral imagery from Axel Space, hyperspectral imagery from Pixxel and open satellite products such as Sentinel-2. Main work is likely to involve analysis of field spectra, UAV imagery and multiple satellite streams; additional site data collection is possible where it addresses a core question. (Project overview, Lethal Psi experiment)

The project presents four possible question families: how sustained drought alters leaf reflectance; how accurately reflectance predicts measured leaf-water content or potential; which bands or indices best signal drought-associated mortality risk; and how risk varies across Amazon forests. A sensible path is to validate sensor-derived measures against the site physiology first, compare resolution and spectral information, and then assess whether local relationships transfer across forest settings. These are potential directions, not promised outcomes; the chosen question, study extent, software and validation plan need discussion with the supervisors. Sentinel-2 offers 13 optical bands at 10, 20 and 60 m and free systematic access, while the project also names commercial imagery whose license and delivery details should be verified. (Project overview, Copernicus Sentinel-2)

School, Programme and Field Context

The research base is the University of Leeds School of Geography's Ecology and Global Change group. Its stated work includes tropical-forest carbon cycling, ecosystem responses to current and future climate change, vegetation modelling and international forest-monitoring networks. YES-DTN is a BBSRC-NERC Doctoral Landscape Award spanning environmental-science schools at Leeds and York; the project page identifies Leeds Geography as this project's host. The required application route includes a Leeds online application, but the public project page does not separately spell out the formal registration and degree-awarding terms. Confirm those details directly; participation by Brazilian collaborators does not itself mean the doctorate is jointly awarded. (Ecology and Global Change, YES-DTN overview, University address, How to Apply)

Institutional and subject indicators provide context rather than a guarantee of the experience of this project. QS places Leeds =77 overall in 2027 and #26 for Geography in 2026. In REF 2021, 93% of Leeds's Geography and Environmental Studies submission was rated four-star or three-star. The EGC group and project-specific team/data evidence are more directly relevant to day-to-day fit than the university-wide position. (QS overall ranking, QS Geography ranking, REF 2021 results)

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

Professor David Galbraith's research focuses on tropical-forest responses to drought, heat and land-use change, using field ecophysiology and ecosystem modelling. He leads the Lethal Psi rainfall-exclusion experiment. Professor Emanuel Gloor works on tropical forests and the global carbon cycle, including atmospheric greenhouse-gas observations and transport modelling with remote-sensing inputs. Marcos Adami is an INPE senior researcher whose listed areas include tropical ecosystems, optical sensors and hyperspectral remote sensing. The team spans physiology, carbon-cycle interpretation and sensing expertise. The official experiment account also describes staff collecting core measurements and monthly UAV surveys, with Brazilian postgraduate researchers working at the site. (Galbraith profile, Gloor profile, Adami profile, Lethal Psi experiment)

Recent Important Publications

• Tavares et al., “Basin-wide variation in tree hydraulic safety margins predicts the carbon balance of Amazon forests” (Nature, 2023). This pan-Amazon study links tree hydraulic safety margins to species distributions and forest carbon balance. It gives the project a strong physiological target for ground validation: remote signals should be judged against meaningful plant-water and carbon outcomes. It does not establish which imagery or indices will work for this PhD. (PubMed record)
• Docherty et al., “Long-term drought effects on the thermal sensitivity of Amazon forest trees” (Plant, Cell & Environment, 2023; online 2022). Measurements on eight dominant species at a long-term drought experiment found no average change in thermal response of photosynthesis or respiration, but a lower threshold for heat damage to photosystem II under drought. This illustrates why the project should define its physiological outcome carefully: different stress indicators need not move together. (Open-access article)
• Gloor et al., “Atmospheric CO2 inversion reveals the Amazon as a minor carbon source caused by fire emissions…” (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2023). An atmospheric inversion estimated a small net carbon source over 2010–2018, mostly from fire, with forest uptake offsetting about half of those emissions; drought years had larger emissions. This adds regional carbon-cycle context, but atmospheric carbon balance is not a direct tree-mortality observation. (White Rose research record)

An additional satellite-based biomass analysis combined coarse L-band vegetation optical depth with higher-resolution forest-cover and disturbance maps, illustrating both the potential of multi-source mapping and the limits of coarse resolution for attribution. (Fawcett et al., Global Change Biology)

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

YES-DTN states that the full studentship provides a UKRI-rate personal stipend for 3.5 years, university fees, and generous support for research costs, fieldwork, training and conference travel. Its FAQ says the programme can offer up to 30% of full awards to international applicants, covers all university fees regardless of the home/international fee difference, and may require international students to account for tax in their home country. The programme excludes relocation, travel to the UK, student visa and immigration health surcharge costs. Current UKRI guidance sets the full-time minimum stipend at £21,805 from 1 October 2026; the 2027/28 award-year amount remains unconfirmed. (Join us, FAQ, UKRI student support)

The official deadline is 12 January 2027 at 13:00 GMT. Applicants must complete both the University of Leeds online application and the separate YES-DTN combined CV/structured personal-statement form. The Leeds form generates a student ID needed for the second form; the programme recommends submitting the Leeds form several days early and requires transcripts/certificates and the correct project code. The programme pages conflict on opening: Join Us says 2 November 2026; How to Apply and the home page say 12 November at 10:00 GMT, and the detailed guide says the forms will not be available before that date. As checked on 5 November, the operational opening status cannot be confidently established. (How to Apply, Join us, Programme home page)

Leeds estimates average student living costs at £320 per week or £16,640 for a 52-week year in 2026/27. Compared with the current UKRI minimum of £21,805, this leaves an indicative £5,165 before one-off costs; it is not a personal budget, and accommodation, travel, fieldwork and immigration costs vary. Leeds gives average self-catered university accommodation rent of £198/week with bills included; its guide recommends budgeting for a full 52 weeks for many postgraduate students. (Leeds living-cost guide)

Applicant Fit and Preparation

The project itself does not state a narrow degree-subject requirement or name mandatory software. The network's general minimum is a relevant 2:1-equivalent degree; a first-class degree and master's may help with scholarship competitiveness, while transferable research skills can support applicants switching fields. The strongest fit is likely to combine quantitative analysis with a serious interest in tropical-forest ecology and plant stress. (YES-DTN FAQ, School of Geography entry requirements)

Applicants can strengthen their case with concrete examples of coding or data processing, GIS/image analysis, handling spectral or time-series data, validation and uncertainty analysis, field measurements, or plant/ecosystem research. These are suggested preparation areas rather than published selection requirements. A brief example that connects a biological question to a measurable spectral feature and a validation plan would demonstrate fit well. The broader geospatial sector supports several possible environmental and data-oriented career pathways, but market size is not a prediction of individual employment. (Demand for geospatial skills, Geospatial sector market report, RGS careers in mapping and data science, YES-DTN training)

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before Applying

• Ask YES-DTN which opening date is operational and whether the Leeds and network forms are available; use the exact project code YES-27-G-06.
• Confirm international-award availability, English-language evidence, the 2027/28 stipend and the complete two-form/document checklist.
• Contact the primary supervisor to discuss the likely research question and the balance between image analysis, ecological interpretation and any field collection.

At Interview

• Ask what imagery products and licenses are secured, how sensor signals will be validated against the field physiology, and what the fallback plan is if a commercial data stream is delayed.
• Clarify the expected fieldwork period, student role at the Mato Grosso site, supervision split with INPE, and the training/software support available.

Before Accepting an Offer

• Obtain written confirmation of registration and degree-awarding institution, stipend rate and duration, tuition coverage, research-cost allowance, field travel and safety arrangements, and any international costs not covered.

Evidence and Sources

Official project, programme and application information

• YES-27-G-06 project overview
• How to Apply
• Join us and studentship terms
• YES-DTN home page
• YES-DTN FAQ
• YES-DTN overview
• YES-DTN Research Training
• UKRI support for funded students

University, research environment, staff and entry requirements

• University of Leeds living-cost guide
• School of Geography research degree entry requirements
• University of Leeds contact and location
• QS World University Rankings 2027: Leeds
• QS Geography ranking 2026
• REF 2021 Leeds results
• Ecology and Global Change group
• David Galbraith profile
• Emanuel Gloor profile
• Marcos Adami profile at INPE
• Lethal Psi rainfall-exclusion experiment

Research, methods and career context

• Tavares et al. 2023, Nature
• Docherty et al. 2023, Plant, Cell & Environment
• Gloor et al. 2023, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• Fawcett et al. 2023, Global Change Biology
• Copernicus Sentinel-2 data and mission
• Leeds summary of basin-wide drought research
• UK Geospatial Commission market report 2024
• UK Geospatial Commission demand-for-skills report
• Royal Geographical Society careers in mapping, GI and data science