PhD studentship on Aboveground-Belowground Linkages in Northern Boreal and Subarctic Ecosystems

A new Ph.D. studentship is available with the Department of Forest Ecology
and Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, at
Umea, Sweden. The position is fully financed (including salary and
benefits) for a period of four years. The start date for the position is
January 1 2012, although there is some flexibility around this date.

The project will focus on interactions among plant communities, soil
organisms and ecosystem processes across major environmental gradients in
natural tundra and forest ecosystems in northern Sweden. Work will be
performed in two study systems: (1) Gradients of elevation (and thus
temperature) across each of two widely contrasting vegetation types in
subarctic tundra in the Abisko region; and (2) Gradients of succession
along a fire-driven chronoseqence in boreal forest. The project will
include both field work over the summer and autumn months, and
corresponding laboratory work. While it is our intention that the student
works on these two systems, the scope of the project work is deliberately
broad, and is adaptable to suit the specific interests of the student that
is appointed. This project would be ideal for anyone intending to
specialize in community or ecosystem ecology with a focus on natural
ecosystems.

The supervisors of this studentship are Professor David Wardle and Marie-
Charlotte Nilsson (SLU), and Assoc. Prof. Reiner Giesler and Dr. Ellen
Dorrepaal (Ume? University).

Requirements include a M.Sc. (or comparable degree) in Ecology or a
related discipline, with an emphasis on plants and/or soils. Having a
degree (minimum 180 ECTS) with similar emphasis is also acceptable.
Applications from both Sweden and elsewhere in the world are welcome.

SLU is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Enquiries and further information about this position can be made to Prof.
David Wardle (david.wardle@svek.slu.se).

Please send applications, marked with Reference Number 1764/2011, together
with a letter motivating your interest, your CV, and the contact
information for two referees whom we can approach, to the Registrar, SLU,
P.O. Box 7070, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden, or by E-mail to
registrator@slu.se. Applications should arrive at the latest on 10 August
2011.