Evaluating the influence of NEOM regreening approaches on terrestrial productivity (Funded PhD Studentship) Ref: 5792

Supervisors

Primary Supervisor 

Dr Andy Cunliffe, Oppenheimer Associate Professor of Geospatial Ecology, University of Exeter

Secondary Supervisor

Professor Ted Feldpausch, Professor of Terrestrial Ecology and Global Change, University of Exeter

The University of Exeter invites applications for a PhD studentship in geospatial ecology starting from April 2026 onwards. The student will join the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Services (TESS) lab (https://tess-lab.org/) in the Department of Geography, Streatham Campus, Exeter.

Funded by the Saudi NEOM project, eligible students would receive Home tuition fees, a £15,000 research training support grant, and an annual tax-free stipend of at least £20,780 for 3.5 years.

This funded PhD studentship will deliver new understanding of the variability in plant productivity over space and time in response to dryland management in the context of environmental variation.

The Saudi NEOM project is one of the largest ecological restoration projects worldwide, with interventions being deployed to regreen drylands across vast landscapes. However, environmental variability over space and time hinders evaluations of how effective interventions are. Building on our Relative Productivity Index (RPI) using observed versus potential productivity modelled with machine learning (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113208), this applied geospatial ecology project will study how vegetation productivity varies, how it responds to management, and evaluate NEOM’s regreening efforts. Working with NEOM, it will generate evidence to inform restoration actions. Objectives include:

 Objective 1: Enhance the Relative Productivity Index (RPI) framework by improving predictive performance, computational efficiency, and spatial resolution through algorithm optimisation, tuning, and refined covariates. Assess trade-offs between spatial resolution and other performance factors. Apply the improved RPI to quantify baseline vegetation impacts (e.g., overgrazing) across Saudi Arabia.

 Objective 2: Evaluate the impacts of NEOM’s passive regreening actions, such as excluding large herbivores and off-road driving, using the RPI to control for climate-driven variability and incorporating data from allied ground monitoring. This should reveal landscape-scale recovery timeframes and highlight areas where further interventions or monitoring may be desirable.

 Objective 3: Evaluate NEOM’s active regreening efforts, such as planting and irrigation, using a multi-method approach. Combine fine-scale RPI (to account for climate-driven variability) with finer resolution optical data (e.g., Sentinel-2) to compare vegetation change in intervention sites versus the wider landscape.

 Developing the RPI framework is an active priority within the TESS Lab, offering collaboration opportunities with related projects. The University is a leader in research into environmental change and its impacts on people.

 The student will make two extended visits to Saudi Arabia for place-based learning, model validation, and knowledge exchange with the NEOM team. As the project partner provides funding and support, specific terms apply and will be explained at interview and detailed in the offer letter.

 The studentship will be awarded on the basis of merit. Students who pay international tuition fees are eligible to apply. However, they should be aware that the award only covers part of the international tuition fee or approximately £25,000 pa. International applicants need to be aware that they will have to cover the cost of their student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.

The conditions for eligibility of home fees status are complex and you will need to seek advice if you have moved to or from the UK (or Republic of Ireland) within the past 3 years or have applied for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.  

Entry requirements

Applicants for this studentship must have obtained qualifications equivalent to a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, and have obtained, or be about to obtain a masters degree in an appropriate area of geospatial ecology, ecology, environmental intelligence, environmental science, physical geography, geographic information systems, or a related subject.

 The candidate should have a strong analytical foundation in geospatial ecology and a desire to work in an applied space develop and share new knowledge on the effectiveness of regreening strategies to inform adaptive management. Core analytical work will be implemented in the R computing language, facilitating mutual support with related projects. The successful candidate will be supported and required to present their findings at international research conferences, to contribute to reports for the project funder, disseminate their work with the wider public, and to ensure that all outputs (data, models, publications etc.) are made available open access for wider societal benefit.

 If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information.

How to apply

Apply now

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button above. In the application process you will be asked to upload several documents

·       CV (3-pages max, do not include photographs, ethnicity, date of birth, marital status, or religion, as under UK law these protected characteristics will not be considered). 

·       Letter of application (2-page max. outlining your academic interests, prior research experience, and motivation to undertake this project).

·       Transcripts giving full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained (this should be an interim transcript if you are still studying).

·       Two references from referees familiar with your academic work. If your referees prefer, they can email the reference direct to PGRApplicants@exeter.ac.uk quoting the studentship reference number.

If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need to submit evidence of your proficiency in English.

 The closing date for applications is midnight on the 10^th of January 2026. 

Interviews will be held virtually in February. All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

 Please quote reference 5792 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.

Summary