Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Science - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description
The postdoctoral position is funded by BECC (Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate), an interdisciplinary strategic research area based on collaboration between more than 250 researchers at the universities of Lund and Gothenburg. BECC develops research that contributes to the visualization and generation of knowledge to predict and manage the combined effect of climate change and land use on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services. BECC's strength is its existing and successful research leaders from many different disciplines such as biology, political science, geology, mathematics, physical geography and economics that together develop BECC. The Center for Environmental and Climate Research, CEC, hosts BECC. CEC is both a physical and a virtual center at Lund University. CEC conducts research, education and communication about environmental science and climate research.

Work duties
A climate mitigation and adaptation strategy applicable for Sweden is rewetting of drained peatlands, which can both aid in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and create a landscape with higher biodiversity being more resilient to drought/flooding and forest fires. The main aim with this project is to improve our understanding of the impact this climate adaptation and mitigation strategy has on the activity of soil microbial communities, and in turn their influence on the land atmosphere exchange of GHG. The applicant should have experience in peatland microbial ecology, GHG fluxes and field experiments. An important component is the application of metatranscriptomics used to observe microbial activity via the expressed transcripts of genes in response to re-wetting to capture community functional activity. We will apply the metatranscriptomics approach in an attempt to link microbial activity to observed GHG fluxes on a temporal scale. These measurements will be linked to measurements of land atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases. More specifically, we aim at increasing our understanding of (i) which functional groups in the soil microbial community become active/dormant following rewetting and (ii) how does the activity of these functional groups affect the net exchange of greenhouse gases.

The main duties of the postdoc are to develop and run to this research project independantly. This task will include study design field sampling, RNA extractions and post sequencing bioinformatics. In addition, the postdoc is expected to create collaborations and share scientific findings to the broader community. The work duties can also include teaching and other departmental duties (no more than 20%).

Admission requirements
The candidate should have a Ph.D. in Environmental science /Ecology /Physical geography, Ecosystem sciences or something equivalent. The applicant must be committed and focused, and be able to take responsibility for the larger parts of the research project. Documented experience of field work, metatranscriptomics, and studies of land-atmosphere interactions is a necessary.

Assessment criteria
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. Proven experience in scientific writing in English is essential. We are looking for an independent and creative person who thrives in a dynamic research environment. The project requires close collaboration with other scientists and the candidate should be able to work independently and to carry out hands-on experiments, as well as working in groups on a collaborative basis. For appointments to a post-doctoral position, a special attention is paid to the following:

Knowledge and skills relevant to the project. A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research. An assessment of ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems. Written and oral communication skills.

Other assessment criteria:

• Experience with ecosystem sciences, metatranscriptomics, and land atmosphere exchange processes
• Experience with eddy covariance flux systems and/or chamber measurements
• Good ability in handling large amounts of data
• Experience of field work
• Knowledge in peatland micobial processes and plant ecology.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Drivers licence B

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant, through his or her experience and skills, is deemed to have the abilities necessary for successfully completing the third cycle programme.

Eligibility
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 last date for applications. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of a maximum of 2 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, OFR/S and SEKO, dated 4 September 2008.

Instructions on how to apply
The application, which should be submitted electronically, 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.