We are seeking a postdoctoral fellow and a PHD student to work on a team project on
modeling forest growth and dynamics at the temperate-boreal forest transition. The
successful candidates will work in collaboration with a large team of forest ecologists and
modelers.
POSTDOC POSITION. The general objective of this project is to develop a suite of forest
dynamic models that will be used by natural resources managers to better understand (i)
the different uncertainties associated with climate change and (ii) how current land-use
practices can affect the diversity and functioning of the transitional forest between the
temperate and boreal biomes. The current tools that are used to predict its impact on forest
ecosystems are limited because they lack important ecological knowledge. These models
are inappropriate for forest ecosystems because they do not consider how the complex
interplay between dispersal, interspecific interactions and forest management will affect
migration dynamics and productivity. The postdoctoral researcher will develop a modeling
suite spanning different spatial and temporal scales, from local scales and short time
horizons (10-25 years) to the large (regional) spatial scales and long time horizons (100200 years). We will focus on forest Eastern Canada at the transition between temperate
and boreal biomes since we expect the greatest impacts of climate change to occur in such
forests.
A PhD degree in biology, forestry or environmental science is required. Candidates must
also have strong skills in modeling, forest ecology, statistics and analyses of large
databases. Training in mathematics is considered a valuable asset. A fellowship of $
40,000 per year for 2 years is offered.
PHD POSITION. The challenge of sustainable forest management is to satisfy
simultaneously economical, social and environmental concerns. This project aims to
maximize these three objectives by developing silvicultural practices that will promote
diversity of forest stands. There is now a consensus, for several systems, that biodiversity
has a positive effect on the provision of ecosystem services. Despite the documented
advantages of a new silvicultural strategy that is explicitly based on the promotion of
biodiversity, several barriers are preventing the application of this concept in current
forestry practices. The general objective of this project is thus to evaluate operationally the
effect of tree diversity on forest productivity and on the sustainable annual allowable cut.
The project consists of developing regional growth and yield models that will account for
competition and facilitation. The models will be developed from temporary and permanent
sampling plots and an experimental design of high diversity plantations. The growth models
will be used to evaluate the impact of different silvicultural practices promoting tree diversity
on the sustainable annual allowable cut of representative management areas of temperate,
mixed and boreal forests.
An MSc degree in forestry, biology, environmental sciences or statistics is ideal, but other
fields may be considered. Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in ecological
modelling, working with large databases, a good statistical basis and some programming
skills or at least a strong interest in learning it. A fellowship of $ 20,000 per year for 3 years
is
offered.
INTSTRUCTIONS. Applications, including a letter describing research interests, a CV,
copies of transcripts and the contact information for two references, or any questions about
the project should be directed to dominique_gravel@uqar.ca. Knowledge of French is not
required but the student must be open to learn and work in this environment.
Research activities will be conducted at the biology department at the Université du
Québec à Rimouski (http://www.uqar.ca). The candidates will be invited to join the activities
of a dynamic laboratories (http://chaire-eec.uqar.qc.ca) and an active team of collaborators
from the Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science (http://qcbs.ca) and the Center for Forest
Science (http//www.cef-cfr.ca/). The student will also benefit from the resources and
training offered by a training program in forest complexity modeling
(http://www.fcm.uqam.ca/).
Dominique Gravel
Canada Research Chair
Continental ecosystem ecology
Université du Québec à Rimouski
300 Allée des Ursulines
Rimouski, Québec, G5L 3A1
(418) 723-1986 #1752
dominique_gravel@uqar.ca