4 year phd in climate effects on fire (Sweden/Canada)

SLU Alnarp and University of Quebec at Abitibi-Temiscamingue (UQAT, Canada) announce a
4-year PhD position « Understanding climatic controls of large fire years in Nordic region »

Fire is the primary disturbance factor in the boreal forests and understanding the climatic triggers of regional fire activity is of paramount importance for modeling of future trends in fire impacts and developing solid mitigation strategies. Recent increase in the forest fires in Sweden, and particularly – 2014 Sala fire in the Swedish county of Västmanlands, highlighted the need for better understanding of natural and human-related factors causing the occurrence of large forest fires. Some of the most important questions in this context touch upon long-term frequency and environmental controls of such events. Should we expect large forest fires to become more common in the future and increasingly more important for Swedish forests, forestry, and society as a whole? What is the interplay of climate, topography, and forest composition in shaping these events?

Requirements for potential candidates (Qualifications)

We are looking for an ambitious and highly motivated PhD student with a completed master degree in forest ecology, climatology, geography, ecosystem modeling, or mathematics. Documented experiences in dendrochronology, GIS-added analyses, work with large relational databases, modeling of biological systems and good skills in computer programming (R) will all be valued during the evaluation process. It is important that the candidate is fluent in English and has an excellent ability to formulate himself/herself both orally and in writing. Knowledge of Swedish is an asset.

A past record of scientific publication and presentation is highly valued. We put great emphasis on personal characteristics of the successful applicant, solid work ethic, and in particular – the ability to independently manage a large volume of fieldwork and laboratory tasks, and meet reporting and publication deadlines. The candidate should be physically fit to successfully perform in challenging (but aesthetically superior) fieldwork settings.
We would like to emphasize that lack of particular type of experience (knowledge) will not in any way have a major impact on evaluation outcome. It is the overall record of both academic performance and previous achievements, the interviews, and opinions from the reference persons, which will jointly provide the main ground for the evaluation.

Forms for funding & employment

Employment as PhD student for four years, co-funded by the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre (SLU Alnarp). This PhD project comes with a highly competitive salary and an excellent social benefits package (including medical and social insurance) for four years.
SLU is an equal opportunity employer which values high the diversity and balanced gender representation.

Application deadline

September the 30th, 2015. Short-listed candidates will be contacted in early October. Final selection will be announced in mid-October and the PhD project is expected to start in January/February 20
6, at the latest. Interested parties should electronically submit a letter of interest, application form (ANSÖKNINGSBLANKETT), vita/resume, graduate school transcripts, and contact information for three reference persons to Igor.Drobyshev@slu.se