Doctoral student in Geobiosphere science with spezialisation in Physical geography and ecosystem science - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description
A doctoral position is hereby announced in the subject Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science at the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science (INES), Lund University. The research in Physical Geography and ecosystem science includes studies of the landscape and ecosystems, their resources and transformation through both natural processes and human influences. The study of climate change, climatology, is a significant subject component, as are processes that affect the exchange of mass and energy between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Ecosystem science deals with vegetation dynamics, ecosystem processes and biogeochemistry, among other things. The research is strongly oriented towards interdisciplinary studies of environmental and climate changes both in the local and global perspective as well as exogenous processes applied to geomorphological landscape changes in varying climate environments. Applications and development of remote sensing-based methods for observing the Earth and analysis of geographic information are significant subject components.

Work duties

The EU-funded ERC project PERENNIAL investigates how a change from growing annual to perennial crops can reduce the climate impact from agriculture and have other positive environmental effects. Cultivation of annual plants disrupts agro-ecological processes every year, resulting in soil erosion, nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions. The costly methods of managing annual plants, including a heavy reliance on herbicides and mineral fertilizers, partially explain the low economic returns in agriculture. A transition from annual to perennial crops is expected to bring about major changes. PERENNIAL is coordinated from LUCSUS (LU) and includes participants, in addition to INES, from the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU), France and the USA.

The purpose of the project is to increase understanding of the processes that control flows of carbon and water in agricultural land when growing annual/perennial crops/cereals. Quantification of flows of energy and greenhouse gases and the factors that control these flows as well as the storage of carbon in the ground are important parts of the project. In Alnarp outside Lund, we have access to areas where we can do field studies of these processes. These data measured in the field will be used to improve our process understanding, and to parameterize dynamic vegetation models and models for quantifying sequestration of organic carbon in the soil. The model studies will increase our understanding of how a transition to perennial crops can function as climate adaptation and to counteract climate change. The PhD student will work in a team of researchers who have extensive national and international collaborations and extensive expertise and experience in modeling, empirical field studies, and remote sensing. The doctoral student will also work together with a doctoral student (Varbi 2023/3606) with a focus on the field measurements of flows of energy and greenhouse gases.

     The main task for a doctoral student is to dedicate him/her-self to the doctoral education, which includes both participation in research projects and doctoral education courses. The duties may also include participation in teaching and other departmental work, however a maximum of 20% of the working time.

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

1. has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
2. has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits awarded in the second cycle, or
3. has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Geobiosphere Science if he or she has:

• MSc in Physical Geography or equivalent

Additional requirements:

• Good knowledge of the processes that control the exchange of carbon, water, energy and nutrients between soil, vegetation and atmosphere.
• Experience with dynamic vegetation models/soil carbon models.
• Experience in programming.
• Very good knowledge of English, in speech and writing.

Applicants must have a university degree (M. Sc. or equivalent) in natural sciences, preferably in physical geography or ecosystem science or similar. Proven experience of scientific writing such as publications, essays or similar in English is of great importance. We are looking for an independent and creative person who thrives in a dynamic research environment. We place high demands on this person to be able to work goal-oriented and independently with own projects as well as with both Swedish and foreign researchers in a group and demonstrate good cooperation skills. We are looking for a person who is committed and goal-oriented and who can clearly take responsibility for parts of larger research projects, as well as carry out their tasks independently. Documented experience of dynamic vegetation models and studies of the interaction between soil and atmosphere are meritorious.

Assessment criteria

Selection for third-cycle studies is based on the student’s potential to profit from such studies. The assessment of potential is made primarily based onacademic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following:

1. Knowledge and skills relevant to the thesis project and project and the subject of study.
2. An assessment of ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems.
3. Written and oral communication skills.
4. Other experience relevant to the third-cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.

Other assessment criteria:

• Good ability to handle large amounts of data
• Experience with the LINUX operating system to work with HPC (so-called high performance computing) clusters.
• Knowledge in ecosystem science, plant physiology, soil science and plant ecology.

Consideration will also be given to good cooperation skills, drive and independence, as well as how the applicant, through his/her experience and competence, is judged to have the ability needed to complete the postgraduate studies.

Terms of employment

Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Third cycle studies consist of full-time studies for 4 years. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term employment of a maximum of 5 years (including 20% departmental duties). Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and include a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background. The application must also contain a CV, degree certificate or equivalent, and other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.).

The application must contain a maximum 2-page research plan with the applicant's ideas about how the project should be designed and implemented. This plan must should mainly be based on the following documents:

• Is there a PERENNIAL future of agriculture?
• Capturing Carbon in Perennial Cropping Systems

Welcome to apply!