Dear colleagues,
please distribute the job announcement below to anyone interested.
regards,
Peter Hietz
PhD position at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU)
Analysing global change in tropical forests through tree rings and stable isotopes
A three-year PhD position funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) will become available at the Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (Universität für Bodenkultur www.boku.ac.at) Vienna, Austria, starting April 2007, or as agreed.
Increasing atmospheric CO2 affects tree physiology and water relations, and is thought to have affected the growth dynamics of many tropical forests. Anthropogenic nitrogen input has increased even in remote tropical regions with largely unknown effects on tropical forests, and the effect of past fluctuations and possible future changes in temperature and precipitation on tropical trees is little understood. The project supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) will sample increment cores from trees with annual growth rings, mainly from established forest plots in Thailand, India, Australia and Panama, and trace the effect of global change on tropical forests through tree rings and stable isotopes.
The candidate will measure and analyse increment cores, and prepare samples for stable isotope analysis. She or he is also expected to join in field sampling to some of the sites and to co-operate with the international and Austrian partners of the project (the Institute of Botany and the Tree Ring Laboratory of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Science and the Stable Isotope Laboratory of the Department of Chemical Ecology and Ecosystem Research at the University of Vienna). Data analysis will focus on detecting long-term trends, correlations with climate variability, and evaluating the growth dynamics of populations.
The ideal candidate would have experience in tree ring research and/or the ecology of tropical trees and forests, a sound knowledge of statistics, and English writing skills. Courses in tree ring research and stable isotope techniques will also be offered during the studies.
Apart from field trips, work will be based in Vienna, which in 2006 was ranked 4th out of 250 cities in an internation ranking of overall quality of life.
Interested candidates should contact Peter Hietz (peter.hietz At boku.ac.at). Formal applications including a curriculum vitae, a letter explaining why you are interested in this research and how you expect to contribute and two letters of support should be received before Jan 31.
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Peter Hietz
Institute of Botany
Univ. of Natural Ressources and Applied Life Sciences
Gregor Mendel-Str.33
1180 Vienna, Austria
tel: +43-1-47654-3154
fax: +43-1-47654-3180
email: peter.hietz At boku.ac.at
