Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37,000 students and about 4,700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.
The ongoing societal transformation and large green investments in northern Sweden create enormous opportunities and complex challenges. For Umeå University, conducting research about – and in the middle of – a society in transition is key. We also take pride in delivering education to enable regions to expand quickly and sustainably. In fact, the future is made here.
We are announcing a postdoctoral position in tropical carbon cycling and modelling. The employment is full time for two years and the position is expected to start in September 2025, or according to agreement. Last application date is June 6th, 2025. We welcome your application!
Research description The postdoc position is supported by a wider project, which is monitoring ecosystem functioning in tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF). The core study site is in a Peruvian TMCF, where several large-scale experiments have been ongoing since 2017 to monitor the effects of decreased water inputs to the system. In addition, the project has maintained a nearby long-term monitoring site in a pristine TMCF forest since 2007. At all of these sites, most ecosystem carbon fluxes of the canopy, stems, soil and roots have been regularly monitored, generating detailed carbon cycle time series for ~5 years from the experiments and ~18 years from the long-term monitoring site. These data are complemented by past and ongoing collections of plant ecophysiology and soil biochemistry.
This postdoc position will focus largely on collating and analyzing the large volumes of carbon cycle data gathered from the site to date, then preparing the resulting analyses for publication in scientific journals. Likely topics for papers include detailed expositions of particular components (litterfall, soil components), or temporal trends. In addition, model-data intercomparison studies or calibration could be a promising avenue, as well as integration of carbon cycling data with complementary ecophysiology and/or soils data from the sites. Field visits to the site are not essential, but are possible if they can be explicitly motivated for scientific purposes.
The postdoc will work with Prof. Daniel Metcalfe (Umeå University, Sweden) and Dr. David Bartholomew (Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Brazil), and collaborators within the broader project consortium, including Prof. Johan Uddling (Gothenburg University, Sweden), Dr. Edith Hammer (Lund University, Sweden), Prof. Louise Rutting (Brandenburg Technological University Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany), and Darcy Galiano (ABIDA, Peru). In addition, this person will have the opportunity to collaborate with a broader constellation of researchers and stakeholders currently engaged in questions regarding tropical forest ecology and climate change.
Qualifications To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirements must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the appointment decision.
To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
The successful candidate should have a PhD in terrestrial ecology. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong record of publishing articles in scientific journals, and ability to execute and complete research projects, think independently and creatively, but also work in within collaborative (team) environment are expected. Past experience with carbon cycling field inventory and handling large volumes of carbon inventory data, carbon/climatemodeling and ecophysiology are considered strong merits.
How to apply The application should contain the following, written in Swedish or English:
A personal cover letter motivating your application and how you can contribute to the research (max one page)
CV including full list of publications,
Copy of doctoral thesis,
A copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained,
Contact information for two reference persons,
Other documents that the applicant wishes to submit.
The closing date is June 6th, 2025.
Contact Any additional questions about the research or application should be directed to Daniel Metcalfe (daniel.metcalfe@umu.se)
The Department of Ecology and Environmental Science carries out research and postgraduate education in ecology, environmental science and physical geography. The department has about 160 employees, about 30 of whom are postdoctoral researchers. For more information, visit: https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-ecology-and-environmental-science/
Umeå University wants to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for the current employment.
We kindly decline offers of recruitment and advertising help.
