Postdoc – scenarios for forests ecosystem services

Key Information

The Postdoc will participate in the development of a forest simulation system and make use of the system to forecast forest development and the development of associated ecosystem services (e.g. climate mitigation, production of timber and biofuel raw materials, biodiversity) under different management and policy scenarios.  

The position runs for a period of 3 years wth start date is as soon as possible.

The place of work will be Ås, 35 km south of Oslo.

Main tasks

The position are established as part of the project  “PLATON – a PLATform for Open and Nationally accessible climate policy knowledge” funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The main tasks will include development of the basic growth functions in the forest simulator SiTree, develop approaches for including forest owner behavior in the simulations, and linking the forest simulator to other modeling frameworks including the optimization tool SIMO. Finally, the tasks will be to implement and interpret simulations results to produce a better understanding of how different management and policy regimes will affect the future procurement of selected ecosystem services from Norwegian forests.

Professional qualifications (required)

  • PhD in forest modelling, growth & yield, optimization or a related field in forestry
  • Experience with writing and publishing scientific papers
  • Good written and oral English skills
  • Strong statistics skills and good working knowledge of the R statistical software package
  • Experience with development of forest models and/or deployment of forest models in scenario analysis
  • Experience with programming

Will be evaluated positively

  • Knowledge on forestry in Northern-Europe or North-America
  • Knowledge on planning and simulation tools applied in forestry
  • The ability to write and speak a Scandinavian language
  • Experience with optimization

Personal qualifications

  • Good communication and co-operation skills
  • Good analytical and problem solving skills
  • Ability to work constructively under pressure
  • Wish to work as part of an ambitious research team
  • Ability to cooperate with internal and external partners with different professional backgrounds and skill sets

Salary and benefits

The position is remunerated according to the Norwegian State Salary Scale as Postdoc code 1352, salary grade 59 – 67 (NOK 523.200 – 605.500 per year), commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which includes a good occupational pension scheme, occupational injury and group life insurance, and low-interest home loans.

Do you need more information?

Contact Dr. Rasmus Astrup +47 941 51 660 or Dr. Gunnhild Søgaard +47 917 27 960, or check web page nibio.no

How to apply for the position

Please send your application with CV electronically via the link on this page.
Take diplomas and letters of recommendation with you if invited to an interview, or submit them as an attachment along with the electronic application/CV.

General information

In accordance with the Norwegian Civil Service equal opportunities policy, qualified candidates are encouraged to apply – regardless of age, gender, functional disabilities or national or ethnic background.

We would like to point out that information about applicants may be subject to public disclosure, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (Offentlighetsloven), Section 25. An applicant can request to be exempted from inclusion on a public list of applicants. If the request for confidentiality is denied, the applicant will be notified thereof.

About the employer

About NIBIO and the Department

NIBIO’s activities lie within agriculture, food, climate and the environment. The Institute conducts research and management support, and provides knowledge for use in national preparedness, governmental and district management, industry, and the society at large. NIBIO has approximately 700 employees present in all parts of the country. Its main office is located at Ås in Akershus. NIBIO is owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.Department of Forest and Climate conducts research on the role of forests in the climate system and the effect of climate changes on forests. Further, we focus on the effects of (boreal) forest management on the exchange of carbon, energy and water between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere — both in climate change mitigation and adaptation contexts.The department is working together with the Norwegian Environment Agency on the Norwegian national greenhouse gas inventory under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The department is responsible for the inventory of the LULUCF-sector (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry), which includes developing and improving methods and models used to estimate emissions of greenhouse gases from forestry and other land-use.The department leads and participates in applied research and development projects of particular relevance to forest and climate in Africa, including capacity building in methods and tools for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) for REDD+.

Areas of Research
  • Agricultural Science
  • Forestry

Global Biodiversity Information Facility

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