Drought and disease researchers awarded Viking Bursary
This year's Viking Bursary has gone to PhD students, Emily Grace and Andrea Rabbai, who are studying bacterial tree diseases and the impact of drought on mixed forest stands respectively.
Two PhD students have been awarded this year’s RFS Viking Bursary, a £2,000 award which will be distributed across both projects.
Emily Grace is in the third year of her PhD at the University of Birmingham. Her work focuses on how viruses that infect bacteria, named bacteriophages, can influence bacterial tree diseases, particularly Acute Oak Decline (AOD).
“I am thrilled to receive the Viking Bursary from the Royal Forestry Society,” Emily said. “The bursary will support a project looking at the impact of bacteriophages on the two main bacteria that cause AOD, Brenneria goodwinii and Gibbsiella quercinecans, within oak stem tissue, and will go towards purchasing the equipment required to test this in live oak trees.”
The second recipient of the bursary, Andrea Rabbai, also studies at the University of Birmingham. His research focuses on the implications of drought on forest stands. His research involves analysing water use efficiency (WUE) using carbon isotopes in tree rings. He and his colleagues hope to gain insights into how trees in complex mixtures recover from drought stress.
“As droughts become more frequent and severe, understanding eco-physiological responses of young trees is critical for enhancing the resilience of newly established forests and, thus, the success of afforestation and reforestation projects,” Andrea said.
The significance of this research, Andrea said, is heightened by the integration of high-resolution hydrology monitoring data, which has been ongoing since 2015 at the mixed forest plantation. This monitoring has already shown how recent droughts have left a legacy, erasing the memory of past dynamics of soil moisture.
“This transition in forest hydrology dynamics may pose serious challenges to tree survival rates,” Andrea added. “Receiving the Viking Bursary is essential for our research as it will enable us to combine tree ecophysiological data with extensive soil hydrology information. This represents quite a unique opportunity to advance forestry science, potentially informing future afforestation schemes and forest management practices under changing climate conditions.”
Applications for the 2025 Viking Bursary will open next year. RFS members will be given the first notifications in the bi-monthly newsletter.
