Position Description: Our research group studies the impacts of climate warming and changing wildfire disturbance regimes on the carbon balance of northern boreal forests and tundra ecosystems in Alaska and Canada. We are recruiting motivated PhD and MS students to join the Mack/Walker lab in the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss<https://ecoss.nau.edu/>) at Northern Arizona University. Students will have the opportunity to work on two exciting, grant-funded projects:
1. Wildfire and Permafrost Dynamics – investigating how increasing wildfire severity affects permafrost carbon loss and carbon source-sink dynamics 2. Wildfire Management Strategies: developing innovative approaches, such as applying biochar in fuel treatments, to mitigate carbon loss and enhance ecosystem resilience in a warming climate. Our Research: We study the community and ecosystem impacts of a warming climate on plants, soils, and people, focusing on how changing disturbance regimes affect vegetation succession, nutrient dynamics, carbon storage, and climate feedbacks. We apply ecological theory to design effective wildfire management strategies that support human adaptation to a warming climate. Our work combines ecosystem and landscape ecology with diverse field and laboratory methods, including radiocarbon dating, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, dendrochronology, and advanced statistical modeling. Through long-term collaborations, we also access methods in molecular biology and remote sensing. Our research group leads the NSF-funded Bonanza Creek Long-term Ecological Research<https://www.lter.uaf.edu/> program (Michelle Mack is the PI, and Xanthe Walker leads wildfire research) and participates in the NASA Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment<https://above.nasa.gov/>. Degree Programs: Students may pursue an M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, or a Ph.D. in Ecoinformatics through the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cybersystems. To Apply: If interested, please contact Xanthe Walker ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) or Michelle Mack ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>). Xanthe Walker Ph.D. Center for Ecosystem Science and Society Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Arizona Email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe from this list please go to https://community.esa.org/confirm/?u=RhPWqPxFwODKvbkiT32nkIqRrsiSgulp
