Overview

Trees are increasingly being incorporated into agricultural landscapes to provide shade, improve soils, support biodiversity, store carbon and protect farms from climate extremes. However, trees also use water, and the consequences of tree planting for water availability depend strongly on tree characteristics, root and canopy systems, soil conditions, climate and the spatial configuration of trees within farming systems. This PhD will investigate the mechanisms driving water use by trees in tree-based agricultural systems (TIFs) across contrasting environmental and agroclimatic contexts. The PhD will address questions about tree water interactions, including:

How does tree morphology and canopy structure influence water use?
How do tree traits interact with tree density, configuration, soil and climate to determine water availability?
How does water use vary between young and mature tree-based systems and between different types of tree-based agriculture?
What proportion of water used by trees is derived from different soil depths and water sources?
Can aboveground tree morphology be used to predict belowground water use and root-zone water dynamics?
Can mechanistic models be used to predict how different tree-based farming systems influence water stress and water availability under future climates?

For more information about the project and eligibility please click here

Award Summary

100% Home fees covered and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of 21,805. Research funds are available for the field and lab related aspects of the PhD research.

Award Details

Number Of Awards: 1
Start Date: April 2027
Award Duration: 3.5 Years

Application Closing Date

15 October 2026

Sponsor

Newcastle University

Supervisors

Prof Marion Pfeifer (SNES, Newcastle University)
Dr Tom Reershemius (SNES, Newcastle University)

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project.
For more information click here
Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 including in all sub-skills.
The studentship covers fees at the Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees.
International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme.

How To Apply

You must apply through the University s Apply to Newcastle Portal

Once registered select Create a Postgraduate Application .

Use Course Search to identify your programme of study:

Search for the Course Title using the programme code: 8020F
Research Area: Environmental Science
Select PhD Biology as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the Further Details section:

A Personal Statement (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly into the application form
The studentship code SNES316 in the Studentship/Partnership Reference field
When prompted regarding your research proposal - select Write Proposal . You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

You must submit one application per studentship, you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application.

Contact Details

marion.pfeifer@newcastle.ac.uk