Stilling:
Six PhD / postdoctoral fellowships within remote sensing of forest ecosystem resources and bioeconomic modelling
Application deadline: 15.12.2018
About the position
The Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA) at Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has six vacant 3-year PhD or 2-year postdoctoral researcher (Post.Doc) positions, depending on the qualifications of the applicants. The successful candidates will take part in research in the following research areas:
Forest inventory
- Sampling
- Use of advanced remotely sensed data (including airborne lidar data and hyperspectral data)
Bioeconomic modelling
- Risk and uncertainty
- Development of multi-period, multi-objective forest ecosystem scenario tools
Remote sensing of forest ecosystem resources
- Use of image data from drones
- Use of multi-temporal airborne lidar data
- Use of satellite data from pan-European programs such as COPERNICUS
The successful candidates will be part of a team of researchers in the three projects
“Precision forestry for improved resource utilization and reduced wood decay in Norwegian forests” (PRECISION)
“Changing forest area and forest productivity – Climatic and human causes, effects, monitoring options, and climate mitigation potential” (ForestPotential)
“Novel business models and mechanisms for the sustainablesupply of and payment for forest ecosystem services” (NOBEL)
The projects are funded by the ERA-NET co-fund action “ForestValue – Innovating the forest-based bioeconomy”, the Research Council of Norway and NMBU.
PRECISION concentrates on developing a precision forestry framework for reducing the impact of root rot on the forest resources and thereby improve resource utilization and increase the forest sector value creation. PRECISION is an interdisciplinary research consortium spanning the fields of robotics and forest technology, remote sensing, pathology, silviculture, forest management planning, and economics. For more information: https://precision.forestinventory.no.
ForestPotential’s main aim is to disentangle and quantify effects of changing climate and land use on trees and vegetation in the boreal-alpine ecotone. Proxies extracted from remotely sensed data such as airborne lidar and spectral images from drones will be used to enhance the analyses and to support monitoring over time. Climate and herbivore data are also available. ForestPotential also includes scenario analyses of possible impacts on the forest-based sector value chains. For more information:
https://forestpotential.forestinventory.no.
NOBEL is focused on payments for ecosystem services. Spatial information on remaining source areas of natural and near-natural forests will be essential in order to safeguard biodiversity and forest ecosystem services. For more information:
https://nobel.forestinventory.no.
Main tasks
The main tasks for the positions are:
Identification and analysis of high-resolution spectral and structural indicators of root- and butt rot of living trees and forest stands extracted from various remotely sensed data.
Development of a stand-level framework for optimization of silvicultural management, including choice of rotation age under risk of root and butt rot.
Further development of a computer-based decision support system for long-term, large-scale forest ecosystem scenario analyses. Analyses of the climate mitigation potential (i.e., carbon sequestration and storage plus other radiative forces) of forests and forest-based products.
Development of sampling and estimation strategies for change phenomena using remotely sensed auxiliary data.
Analyses of boreal-alpine tree line migration using multi-temporal remotely sensed data.
Evaluating available spatial data such as spectral satellite data from the COPERNICUS program for deriving indicators of forest ecosystem services.
For the PhD positions, the successful candidates are expected to submit a progress plan for the work towards a PhD degree during the first months of the appointment, with the aim to complete a doctorate within the PhD scholarship period of three years.
Academic qualifications
For applicants to the PhD-positions, the applicant must meet the conditions defined for admission to a PhD programme at NMBU. The applicant must have an academically relevant education corresponding to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, where 120 credits are at master's degree level. The applicant must have a documented strong academic background from previous studies, and be able to document proficiency in both written and oral English. For more detailed information on the admission criteria please see the PhD Regulations and the relevant PhD programme description.
For successful applicants to the postdoctoral researcher positions, the applicant must hold a PhD degree in a relevant scientific area.
The applicants must document relevant competence and interest related to at least one of the research areas stated in the introduction. The required academic qualifications for the five positions as a whole, are listed below. Preferred candidates to the PhD/Post.Doc positions must document their qualifications and experience in one or several of these areas:
- Use of remotely sensed data in forest applications
- Dynamic optimisation
- Computer programming
- Sampling statistics
- Analyses of multi-temporal data
- Data fusion
All positions have the following required academic qualifications:
- Experience with data analyses using R or other statistical computing software
- Experience with the use of Geographical Information Systems.
All positions have the following desired academic qualifications:
- Experience with long-term forest ecosystem management planning
- Experience with vegetation monitoring using multi and hyperspectral data
- Experience with 3D data from lidar or stereo-matched images
Personal skillsPersonal characteristics important for the positions are:
- Strong motivation and commitment
- Creativity and ability to work result-oriented, accurate and structured
- Analytical ability
- Ability to work independently as well as in a team
- Proficiency in both written and oral communication
Remuneration and information
The PhD positions are placed in government salary scale, position code 1017 PhD Fellow, wage framework 20/7. PhD Fellows are normally placed in pay grade 51 (NOK 449.400) upon employment and follow ordinary meriting regulations.
The Post.Doc positions are placed in government pay scale position code 1352 Postdoctoral Fellow, wage framework 24 (salary grade 59-77) (NOK 514 800 - 731.000), depending on qualifications. Seniority Promotion in position.
Employment is conducted according to national guidelines for University and Technical College PhD scholars.
For further information, please contact:
- Prof. Terje Gobakken, E-mail: terje.gobakken@nmbu.no; phone +47 67231755, or
- Researcher Ole Martin Bollandsås, E-mail: olebo@nmbu.no; phone +47 67231753
NMBU offers:
• An optimistic academic institution with focus on professional development, dissemination and competence
• An interdisciplinary and inclusive environment that provides exciting research- and development opportunities
• Daily contact with inspiring students and skilled colleagues.
• Various welfare schemes
• Beautiful surroundings just outside Oslo
• Kinder garden for children of employees
Application
To apply online for this vacancy, please click on the 'Apply for this job' button above. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.
Application deadline: 15.12.2018
Applications should include (electronically) a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, full publication list, copies of degree certificates and transcripts of academic records (all certified), and a list of two persons who may act as references (with phone numbers and e-mail addresses). Publications should be included electronically within the application deadline. The relevant NMBU Department may require further documentation, e.g. proof of English proficiency.
Printed material which cannot be sent electronically should be sent by surface mail to Norwegian University of Life Sciences, The Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, within 15.12.2018. Please quote reference number 18/06224.
If it is difficult to judge the applicant’s contribution for publications with multiple authors, a short description of the applicant’s contribution must be included.