Enhancing Ecosystem Service Delivery in British Hops
22 January 2025
Applications are invited for this full-time PhD studentship, which for UK home students is fully funded by the Worshipful Company of Brewers, Asahi and the Royal Agricultural University.
We are amid climate and biodiversity emergencies exacerbated by the need to produce more food to feed a growing population. As part of the approach towards sustainable food production, the UK is aiming to achieve net zero for agriculture by 2040. Whilst this is a challenging goal, it presents numerous opportunities for farmers and land managers to not only directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but engage with actions that will result in greater carbon storage, reduce their reliance on Plant Protection Products (PPPs), and benefit wider biodiversity. There is clearly an urgent need to develop more sustainable and therefore more resilient approaches to food production in the UK.
There are only 45 hop growers remaining in the UK, and the hops they produce are highly sought after, enabling producers to differentiate their beers using unique flavours and aromas. To help underpin this sector there is a need to support hop growers with research that will enable them to increase the resilience and viability of their businesses, whilst enabling them to meet sustainability goals.
The use of wildflower interventions in alleyways between rows of bines is likely to be a game changer for the sector. For the first time, this project will allow the benefits of establishing wildflower strips in hop gardens/yards to be fully investigated. Over a three-year period, the overall aim of the study is to investigate the benefits of wildflower interventions to support hop production through improved soil health and carbon storage, enhanced pest regulation, and benefits for wider biodiversity.
For more information, and application details, visit: https://www.rau.ac.uk/research/phd-studentship-enhancing-ecosystem-service-delivery-in-british-hop-Farms.