진학프로석·박사 채용 접수 플랫폼

We are looking for an enthusiastic researcher with a background in plant hydraulics and ecosystem modelling.

Background | Plant hydraulic traits describe the water transport and storage properties of roots, stems, branches, and leaves. These traits are partially coordinated and, together, define the water transport efficiency and hydraulic safety margin of a given tree species. It is unknown how growth variations under rising CO2 and a changing climate will affect this coordination of plant hydraulic traits. On one hand, the higher water use efficiency associated with higher atmospheric CO2 should enhance plant growth and shorten the legacy of droughts and heatwaves. On the other hand, more severe and more frequent droughts and heatwaves should compromise the xylem efficiency and safety over multiple years. Within the project PHydrauCC, we explore these interactions between tree growth and hydraulic traits under ambient and elevated CO2 using data from Free-Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE) facilities, with the aim to develop a new theory and dynamic model of tree growth and xylem formation and their associated hydraulic traits.

Tasks | You will participate in the development of such new model to study how legacy effects on plant growth of major drought and heat wave events, in combination with elevated CO2, affects the efficiency and safety of the xylem, and thus forest resilience. For this, you will enhance the ecosystem model MuSICA, and evaluate the model using several data streams. In particular, a unique dataset combining plant hydraulic traits and wood anatomy from several FACE sites under ambient and elevated CO2 will be crucial to understand legacy effects, e.g., the recovery from droughts taking several years, or the observed slow death of trees over several years.

Environment | The successful candidate will join the IPSA research unit on the INRAE campus in Bordeaux, France, and will work closely with Jérôme Ogée and Rémi Lemaire-Patin, as well as other members of the PHydrauCC team (Matthias Cuntz, Jean-Christophe Domec, Emilie Joetzjer, Cyrille Rathgeber and Lisa Wingate).

Skills/Qualifications

Qualifications: PhD in forest ecological modelling

Skills sought: Ability to carry out and disseminate first-class research

Specific Requirements

Demonstrated experience in plant hydraulics modelling and programming (e.g., R, Git, Python, Fortran, etc.)