Open Positions

Mitigating drought impacts on mountain forest ecosystems

Company:

ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Work place:

Forest Ecology (FE), Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystems (ITES), Dept. of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS), ETH Zürich

Description:

The Forest Ecology Group at ETH is anticipating funding for a PhD project to examine howdrought influences forest ecosystem dynamics and forest-derived ecosystem services inmountain landscapes. Using a landscape-level forest simulation model (LandClim), the PhD student will (1) focus on improving the representation of drought impacts on mountain forests, (2) examine how increases in drought that are associated with climate change will affect forest ecosystem services, and (3) analyze whether alternative forest management practices can be used to mitigate negative changes. The research activities may include: improving the simulated relationship between drought, simulated soil moisture, and the resulting impacts on forest dynamics, emphasizing how drought will impact the competitive ability of different tree species for water, and examining how drought shapes forest structure and the delivery of forest ecosystem services at the landscape scale. Further information are available on Telejob or as a pdf.