Postdoctoral Research Opportunity in Landscape Ecological Forest Dynamics

A postdoctoral research opportunity is available with US Forest Service (USFS), Southern Research Station located in Asheville, North Carolina.

Changing forest ecological conditions and dynamics, and attendant changes in the sustainability of forest resources, occur within a broader context of varying land uses and environmental change. This context influences forest change and constrains the potential for success of various forest management and restoration strategies. Our broad goal is to provide management-relevant understanding of interactions among landscape context, forest dynamics, and forest resource sustainability across the southeastern US. Specific project objectives are guided by a co-development framework in collaboration with regional and state partners. The research participant is an integral part of that framework.

The participant will interact in a team environment with research collaborators and with forest management professionals to plan, perform and communicate strongly applied landscape ecological analyses of forest dynamics. Research includes integrating and analyzing large spatial and temporal datasets including remote sensing-based and field-based data. Science communication/transfer includes both peer-reviewed publication and engaging land management partners around project findings and data products. The participant will have access to a very rich collection of landscape and forest composition, structure, disturbance, and phenology data, and will collaborate with a team of experts in these datasets.

Learning objectives of this appointment include:

This research opportunity is situated within the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC), a dynamic research unit of the US Forest Service’s Southern Research Station. EFETAC scientists engage in diverse ecology research with broad objectives including: evaluating the effects and consequences of multiple interacting stresses (e.g., climate change, invasive species, wildland fire) on forest health; increasing knowledge of the risks, uncertainties, and/or benefits of multiple stresses on ecological conditions and socioeconomic values; and providing science-based decision support tools for policy formulation and land management.

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

For more information about the USFS Research Participation Program, please visit the Program Website.

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields.

Preferred skills:

If you have questions, send an email to USForestService@orise.orau.gov. Please include the reference code for this opportunity (USDA-USFS-2020-0074) in your email.