Our Applying dendrochronology for genomic resilience project supports UK afforestation goals by combining tree-ring data, genomics and climate modelling to identify which oak tree populations are best suited to future climates, moving beyond the traditional “local is best” approach.

Two interns will help analyse genomic and growth data to improve predictions of tree adaptation under climate change and inform future woodland planting and assisted gene flow strategies. As an intern, you will join the midway through a three-year research programme and contribute to helping the project understand whether assisted gene flow is a useful or perhaps necessary tool to support the future climate adaptation of UK tree populations.

The two internships available with this project are:

Dendrochronology analysis

This internship will focus on analysing dendrochronology data and evaluating a range of tools (e.g. mixed models, random forest and/or counterfactual approaches) to predict growth based on multi-decade training data, after controlling for covariates. Towards the end of the internship, the data will be combined to test whether genomic offset, a measure of local adaptation, can improve the predictive performance of tree growth models.

Genome identification

This internship will focus on identifying parts of the genome that are associated with different environmental conditions across the study sites. By analysing DNA data from oak trees, the research will look for evidence of local adaptation, helping us understand how tree populations may respond to future climate change.

Location: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond (Blended working, at least 2 days/week in-person at Kew).

Find out more and apply here: Science Project Intern – Integrating genomics and dendrochronology to predict tree growth for resilient future forests (2 positions available)