PhD position in Soil Science #1 – Persistence of soil organic carbon pools as regulated by rewilding as part of the WildSoil project (Rewilding as a tool for soil carbon capture and greenhouse gas mitigation)

Section for Geography invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in Persistence of soil organic carbon pools as regulated by rewilding. This PhD project is one of 2 as part of the research project, WildSoil, which is financed by Danish Independent Research Fund.

Start date is (expected to be) 15 June 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.

About WildSoil
Setting aside areas for development towards natural dynamics is called "rewilding" and is part of the green transition in Denmark. While rewilding has positive effects on biodiversity, the climate effects are unclear, particularly due to a lack of knowledge about how soil is affected. In most ecosystems the soil contains much more organic carbon than the aboveground vegetation, and soils regulate many of the natural processes that determine the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In many areas, carbon has been lost from the soil as a result of timber and crop production. By restoring the processes that store atmospheric CO2 as carbon in the soil, we may be able to offset a share of the carbon emissions from fossil sources. Yet, how different rewilding strategies may affect the potential for storing carbon in the soil is highly uncertain. One source for the uncertainty is that rewilding creates more dynamic and structurally diverse landscapes, with higher spatial variation in vegetation communities, traits and processes. This entails redistribution of water and nutrients, with formation of biogeochemical hotspots, with unknown consequences for soil carbon storage and emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O.

The overall aim of WildSoil is to investigate how two rewilding strategies – trophic (with large animals) and passive (land abandonment) - affect soil carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions in a changing landscape. We will investigate a number of Danish areas with passive and trophic rewilding to understand which biological and environmental factors control the transformation and storage of carbon in the soil on a short and long timescale. We will use the latest methods for measuring and modeling soil carbon, e.g. by following the carbon flow from dead plant material to greenhouse gases or long-lasting pools. The knowledge gained can help society and policy makers in selecting the optimal nature restoration strategies for the benefit of biodiversity and climate mitigation in the green transition.

Read more about WildSoil here: https://ign.ku.dk/english/wildsoil/ .

About your PhD project
Your project is 1 of 2 PhD projects in WildSoil. The main aim is to elucidate how rewilding alters soil carbon stocks and the persistence of soil organic matter. The project will shed light on how rewilding regulates the interaction between soil structure formation, soil organic matter persistence and soil organisms that can be linked to greenhouse gas exchange (PhD project 2). We will follow the fate of fresh organic matter into soil fractions of different persistence and link this to shifts in microbial community structure. To better understand the interactions of fresh plant organic matter input and soil biota including microbial communities regulating the persistence of soil carbon, we will closely collaborate with colleagues at the University of Vienna (Austria). Furthermore, we will work together with international collaborators in WildSoil at University of Oxford (UK).

Who are we looking for?
Applicants must hold an MSc degree or equivalent in the field of geoecology, geosciences, agriculture, environmental sciences, biology, geography or a related discipline. As criteria for the assessment of your qualifications, emphasis will also be laid on previous publications (if any) and relevant work experience.

 We are seeking a highly motivated and ambitious individual with good interpersonal and communication skills. Previous experience in field and laboratory experiments, trace gas measurements, isotope analyses, microbial community analyses, chemical soil analyses including soil organic matter studies and spectromicroscopic imaging techniques will be considered a plus.

Fluency in spoken and written English is a requirement.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?

About the host institute
University of Copenhagen is the largest research and education institution in Denmark. Internationally, the University is highly competitive and is ranked as one of the leading universities globally with the most recent Shanghai rankings placed the University as No. 30 worldwide and No. 6 in Europe. This is also reflected by its membership of the prestigious International Alliance of Research Universities. IGN has more than 400 employees and 25 full professors. UCPH has a strong commitment to its doctoral program and IGN recruits over 35 new PhDs annually, about half being foreign students, which ensures a multicultural, international environment. IGN has a number of highly instrumented large-scale field experiments and monitoring stations.

The successful applicant will be based at the `Terrestrial Ecosystem Analysis, Processes and interplay between climate, soil and water group´, Geography Section, thereby joining a lively research environment with a focus on a deeper understanding of biogeochemical, physical, geochemical and biological processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Our section is a diverse group comprising research and teaching staff members, laboratory technicians, PhD candidates and MSc and BSc students, focusing on many aspects of physical and human geography as well as natural resource management. The section has state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and substantial experience in conducting laboratory and field-based experiments.

The group is a part of Department of Geosciences & Natural Resource Management, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen.

Your principal supervisor is Associate Professor, Carsten W. Mueller, Section for Geography, Dept. Geosciences & Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, [email protected], +45 3533 4125. The PhD will be co-supervised by Professor Lars Vesterdal ([email protected]) (Section for Forest and Biomass, Dept. Geosciences & Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen).

The PhD programme
Depending of your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:

Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelors´s degree.

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Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. environmental science, biology, geography etc. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The terms of employment and salary are in accordance to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme

If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor´s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .  

Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes in Physical geography.

Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.

The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd , “Study Structures”.

Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of 150 working hours per year.
A PhD grant portion is currently (2022) DKK 6,397 before tax.

When you have obtainedtheMSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes

• Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
• Carry through an independent research project under supervision 
• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
• Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
• Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
• Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
• Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other relevant professional activities
• Curious mind-set with a strong interest in natural sciences
• Good language skills

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Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include: 

Application deadline
The deadline for applications is 28 Februar 2022, 23:59 GMT +1.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/ .

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 13.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/ .

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position. 

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.