The on-going climate and environmental crises increase conflicts between biodiversity and ecosystem services in forest management. Landscape scale management can alleviate such conflicts by setting aside production forest for non-timber ecosystem services and biodiversity. However, the distribution of hotspots of synergies and trade-offs at the local scale will differentially affect forest owners. This postdoc will work in an interdisciplinary project financed by the Strategic Research Area BECC (www.becc.lu.se), to explore ways to balance biodiversity and ecosystem services influenced by forest management and policy. The main task will be to quantify the trade-offs and synergies in a case study area with mostly private owned forests, and study their spatial patterns in the landscape in line with new and upcoming (inter)national environmental policies.

Work duties

The main duties involved in a post-doctoral posistion is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. The position shall include the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning.

The postdoc will use an area-based modelling approach in the Heureka decision support system to study trade-offs and synergies at the landscape scale between biodiversity, climate mitigation, water quality and timber production, in a case study area in southern Sweden. The postdoc will run scenarios based on (inter)national policies and demonstrate hotspots for trade-offs and synergies in the landscape, as well as distributional inequalities between forest owners.

The research is part of an interdisciplinary project involving ecology, forest science, political science and economy, and the postdoc will have an important role as a hub, connecting the different disciplines. The postdoc is expected to present results at conferences, produce high quality scientific papers and contribute to the dissemination of the results. Communication with stakeholders is an important part of the work.

Qualification requirements

Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the date of employment decision. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• Experience in studying biodiversity and/or ecosystem services in forests or other ecosystems.
• Documented skills in R/Matlab/Python or similar programming environments
• Documented skills in GIS
• Demonstrated skills in scientific publishing
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English
• Ability to work in groups as well as independently
• Assessment criteria and other qualifications

This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers. Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research.
• Teaching skills.

Additional assessment criteria:

• Experience in statistical and/or mechanistic modelling
• Experience in interdisciplinary work and/or stakeholder interactions

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of a maximum of 2 years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S and OFR/S, dated 1st February 2022.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and be compiled into a PDF-file containing:

• résumé/CV, including a list of publications,
• a general description of past research and future
• research interests (no more than three pages),
• contact information of at least two references,
• copy of the doctoral degree certificate, and other certificates/grades that you wish to be considered.