Post-doctoral fellow in ecology - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description
Formulation of sustainable forest policies requires solid understanding of environmental and economic impacts of alternative forest management. This postdoc links efforts of two research projects (ForestPath and Green Pole) to investigate how to balance biodiversity, climate, social values and economy as affected by forest management and policy. The postdoc will focus on predicting consequences for biodiversity of alternative forestry practices and assist in tracing them to underlying policy changes. This requires development of robust ways to relate biodiversity to forest structures that are affected by decisions on both how production forest is managed and to what extent areas are excluded from forestry. To this end, existing data will be used to develop models able to predict how management and policy options impact biodiversity in Swedish and Nordic forests. 

Work duties
The main duties involved in a post-doctoral position is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. The position shall include the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning.

The successful candidate will develop, parameterise, and validate models relating biodiversity of birds and plants to forest structures affected by forest management. Statistical methods such as Joint Species Distribution Modelling and other types of hierarchical models will be used to relate existing and new species datasets to spatially overlapping habitat and land cover data. Within the two projects, these models will be i) integrated with forest ecosystem and management planning models able to project future forest structure under scenarios of alternative management, and ii) combined with comparative analysis to evaluate the effects of forest policy interventions.

The work will be carried out with an interdisciplinary project team with expertise in ecology, biodiversity science, mechanistic modelling, political science, climate science and more. The postdoc is expected to present results at international conferences, produce high quality scientific papers, and play a role in disseminating the results. Stakeholder interactions are a part of the project. The postdoc is also expected to actively participate in and contribute to the general scientific discussion in the research groups.

Qualification requirements
Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the date of employment decision. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• Documented skills in statistical analysis of complex ecological data
• Knowledge of forest ecology and/or conservation biology
• Demonstrated skills in scientific publishing
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English

Assessment criteria and other qualifications
This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers.

Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research
• Teaching skills

Additional assessment criteria:

• Proficiency and experience in statistical analysis of biodiversity - land use relationships
• Proficiency and experience in using remote-sensing data and GIS to analyse land use
• Knowledge of the representation of vegetation in ecosystem models

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of a maximum of 3 years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S and OFR/S, dated 1st February 2022.

Instructions on how to apply
Applications shall be written in English and be compiled into a PDF-file containing:

• résumé/CV, including a list of publications
• a general description of past research and future research interests (no more than three pages)
• contact information of at least two references
• copy of the doctoral degree certificate, and other certificates/grades that you wish to be considered