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Current ClimBEco PhD students

Recruitment to the ClimBEco programme is open during the spring and accepted PhD students begin in August the same year.

Accepted PhD students are enrolled during two years of their PhD studies. There are two groups of PhD students in the ClimBEco programme at the same time. Below is a list of our current ClimBEco groups, Group 13 (2023-2025) and Group 12 (2022-2024). The PhD students are alphabetically ordered by first name, with a brief description of their PhD research.

Group 13 (2023-2025)

Agnieszka Rzepczynska. A photo.

Agnieszka Rzepczynska

Department of Biology, Lund University
In my project I aim to better understand the role of microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, in nutrients cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Specifically, I want to focus on the microbial control of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon cycling and how it is modulated by the effects of global change.
Aleksander Więckowski. A photo.

Aleksander Więckowski

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University
My project focuses on field measurements of the land-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases in Sahelian semi-arid savanna, particularly their spatial and temporal variability. My aim is to aid Sahelian countries in reporting according to the Paris agreement.
Ashish Ashish. A photo.

Ashish Ashish

Department of Biology, Lund University
My research project investigates the mechanisms of fungal decomposition concerning the plant cell wall by saprotrophic fungi. This study encompasses the utilization of spectroscopic techniques and transcriptomic analyses to scrutinize the process through which cellulose and lignin are degraded, enabling the transition to more intricate substrates, such as wood.
Camille Volle. A photo.

Camille Volle

Departement of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Services, Lund University
My Ph.D. project focuses on the states and changes in primary forests. With an updated map of Swedish primary forests, I will investigate for any patterns in their location, how their carbon uptake has varied over the last decades, and report any differences in biodiversity between those ecosystems and managed forests.
Cas Renette. A photo.

Cas Renette

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg
I study the dynamics of palsas, which are mounds of frozen peat, in the Sub Arctic region. These landforms are a unique permafrost habitat and are rapidly disappearing as a result of increased air temperature and precipitation. We use a wide range of techniques crossing several disciplines, including remote sensing with drones, geophysical investigations and the monitoring of climate and ground temperatures.
Catalina Quiroga. A photo.

Catalina Quiroga

Department of Human Geography, Lund University
I am interested in analyzing the impacts of climate change on the daily lives of the communities living in the mangroves in the Colombian Caribbean. Specifically, I am interested in understanding the roles of women, black communities, and peasant communities in the construction of landscapes associated with climate change. To achieve this, my goal is to recognize various forms of knowledge related to mangrove conservation and their inclusion as strategic ecosystems in mitigation and adaptation projects.
Emma Enström. A photo.

Emma Enström

Centre for Environmental and Climate science, Lund University
Water as a resource have a range of interested stakeholders beyond administrative boarders and a lack of coordination between local, regional and national policy and management levels demands a broad attention from policy-makers, stakeholders as well as relevant and functional legislation. The aim of the project is to investigate challenges and opportunities in Swedish water resource policy through mapping of stakeholders and their cooperation, investigating policy instruments as well as studying national and international case studies.
Fabiola Espinoza Córdova. A photo.

Fabiola Espinoza Córdova

Centre for Sustainability Studies, Lund University
My work focus on understanding how adaptation to climate change adaptation in coastal social-ecological systems is imagined and put in practice, and what are the empirical implications at the local level. I specially focus on Barbados as a case study, and touch upon issues related to justice, power, knowledge, and global-south politics.
Johan Severinson. A photo.

Johan Severinson

Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg
I investigate drifting algal mats consisting of perennial species. These mats are of interest as they compete with the important seagrass meadows, and have in some bays completely replaced the seagrass. By learning more about the ecology, dynamics and genetics of the algae I hope to improve seagrass conservation.
Margot Knapen. A photo.

Margot Knapen

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University
I work with inverse modelling using an ecosystem model (LPJ-GUESS) as part of the EU-funded project Arctic PASSION. The aim is to quantify the benefit of additional, new or hypothetical observations on certain target quantities of interest for the Arctic (e.g. permafrost extent or methane emissions).
Renkui Guo. A photo.

Renkui Guo

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University
My study is about hydrology modeling and DOC modeling at different scales. the objective is to develop a model and apply it for DOC modeling. The popular Krycklan catchment in the north of Sweden is one of my study areas. Currently, I am working with Matlab and R.
Vera Braun. A photo.

Vera Braun

Chair of Business Administration, esp. Environmental Management, Technische universität Dresden, Germany
My research is focusing on biodiversity management, asking how organizations can strategically implement the topic of biodiversity. In my dissertation, I focus on the mining industry.
Veronica Geretti. A photo.

Veronica Geretti

Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg
My doctoral project investigates the oxidation processes of volatile organic compounds and the implications for secondary organic aerosols formation, in light of the negative impact that atmospheric aerosols have on human health and their influence on climate. More specifically, I am looking at gas to particle partitioning of a variety of alpha-pinene photo-oxidation products under different chemical regimes.
William Tejler. A photo.

William Tejler

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg
My PhD project focuses on quantifying how mammal herbivory affects vegetation structure. To do this, I will integrate herbivory from extant and recently extinct mammals into the dynamic global vegetation model LPJ-GUESS. This will allow us to assess how natural vegetation patterns look like across the globe, given undisturbed mammal assemblages.
Emma Axebrink. A photo

Emma Axebrink

Nuclear Physics, Lund University
Aerosol particles in the stratosphere scatter and absorb solar radiation which cools the Earth. I study the climate impact of volcanic eruptions reaching the stratosphere and the importance of correct injection height by using the global climate model WACCM.
Hanna Ekström. A photo

Hanna Ekström

Centre for Environmental and Climate Science/Political Science, Lund University
I am interested in the links between forest policies, human behavior, and land use change. I focus on Nordic forests and use a mixed methods approach including agent-based modelling, GIS and interviews.
Hanna Marsh. A photo

Hanna Marsh

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University
My work focuses on Arctic and boreal vegetation and how to estimate changes in phenology, GPP and species composition from warming and other types of climate drivers.
Currently, I work mostly with large-scale remote sensing data, but I also expect to work with ecosystem modelling (LPJ-GUESS) in the future.
Heléne Aronsson. A photo.

Heléne Aronsson

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg
I am harnessing the massive amount of data available for birds in terms of ecology and distribution to produce a metric of biodiversity impact caused by land-use changes. The final aim is to implement the metric in Life Cycle Assessments.
Jessica Jennerheim. A photo.

Jessica Jennerheim

Centre for Environmental and Climate science, Lund University
My PhD studies will entail researching how we conduct risk assessments of construction and demolition waste with a focus on terrestrial organisms. The goal is to generate End-of-Waste criteria to contribute to circular use of material and a more sustainable future.
Maria. A photo.

Maria Karamihalaki

Department of Geology, Lund University
My research at Lund University focuses on exploring the applicability of spectroscopy techniques (i.e. X-ray Fluorescence and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) for the detection of trace elements inside the woody tissue of trees and for studying the link between the occurrence of these elements and major climatic events during the Scandinavian Bronze age. The focal point of my work is to explore how this natural data archive can tell us a story about past climate and extreme climate events.
Nicolas Faure. A photo.

Nicolas Faure

Department of Chemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg
My research project focuses on the physicochemical properties of atmospheric aerosols. The first aspect covers the physicochemical mechanisms taking place at the surface of aerosols, particularly in the presence of gaseous species, leading to the so-called heterogeneous chemistry. The second aspect rather focuses on the aerosol parameters enabling the formation of ice crystals from heterogeneous nucleation.
Niklas Kappelt. A photo.

Niklas Kappelt

Department of Geology, Lund University
I am developing a new dating method for ice cores using the radionuclide 36Cl. The main challenge is to better understand the loss of chlorine during transport and after deposition at low accumulation sites in Antarctica.
Olivier Jean Leonce Manzi. A photo.

Olivier Jean Leonce Manci

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg
I study the variation in photosynthetic heat tolerance and tree water-use strategies among tropical montane species. I also aim to link traits related to physiological heat tolerance and tree hydraulics to tree growth and survival responses to heat and drought, which vary significantly among species.
Qin Lao. A photo.

Qin Tao

Department of Geology, Lund University
I work on evaluating the performance of climate models in terms of reproducing weather patterns in the North Atlantic region. Geological archives and model output are combined to develop seasonal climate field reconstructions that serve as the baseline for evaluation covering the last millennium.
Rafikul Islam. A photo.

Rafikul Islam

Centre for Environmental and Climate science, Lund University
I focus on the impact of clearcut and forest fire on carbon pools and greenhouse gas budgeting in Boreal forest considering future climate change. In a broad sense, I will work on Boreal forest recovery after clear-cut and forest fire. The aim is to improve quantification and reduce uncertainties of the greenhouse gas budgets for Sweden's forests.
Shubham Singh. A photo.

Shubham Singh

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University
I am investigating the possible sources of electrification and lightning in a warm-based cloud. My work also focuses on the representation of clouds in the global model with more microphysical and lightning properties by implementing neural-network scheme.
Sofia Blomqvist. Foto.

Sofia Blomqvist

Centre for Environmental and Climate science, Lund University
My project is a cooperation between Lund University and The Swedish Transport Administration. I will spend my time as a PhD student by looking at how flower rich road verges are affecting our pollinating insects. The aim is to find features in road verges and ways to manage these in order to help our pollinators.
Ulrika Ervander. A photo.

Ulrika Ervander

Department of Earth Sciences. University of Gothenburg
My research interests are to find ways to manage our forests in a sustainable way for climate and biodiversity.
In my PhD project I will investigate how a range of biogeochemical processes and ecological factors are affected by the management method of the forest. The studies will take place mainly in Skogaryd research catchment in a 70 years old spruce forest. The focus of the project will be to analyze the difference in GHG fluxes and carbon stock depending on the forestry management method.

Group 11 and 10 with extensions

Geerte Fälthammar-de Jong portrait

Geerte Fälthammar-de Jong

Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg
Hani Younes profile picture

Hani Younes

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University
I study dissolved organic carbon in freshwater and its role in the global carbon cycle through both field work and labaratory analysis. My research explores the factors affecting respiratory quotient and, as a result, the carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters.
Hannah Frostenberg portrait

Hannah Frostenberg

Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology

My PhD project aims to improve the modelling of cloud microphysics. Currently, I am analysing data from three climate models where different ice-processes have been switched on and off. We want to learn which process has the biggest effect on mixed-phase clouds.
Katrin Björnsdottir

Katrin Björnsdottir

Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg

I am investigating how Arctic vegetation is responding to environmental changes and to further link these responses to different ecosystem functions, such as decomposition and carbon fluxes. Making use of both synthesis and field observations, my aim is to study the links between vegetation and the carbon balance in the Arctic.