Ph.D. Student assistantship at College of Forestry, Oregon State
University: Regional forest landscape dynamics in the Pacific Northwest.
A Ph.D. assistantship is available for Fall 2010 in the Department of
Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. The
student would conduct research on forest and landscape dynamics
associated with the cumulative effects of large wildfires, other
disturbances, and forest growth in the Pacific Northwest. The work
would be associated with a regional monitoring program of the U.S.
Forest Service. The Pacific Northwest has experienced a number of
large wildfires over the last 25 years. These wildfires have had
numerous ecological and socio-economic effects, both desirable and
undesirable. With increasing emphasis on managing wildfire to both
reduce fire suppression costs and better realize ecological benefits
(e.g. biodiversity, restoration) there is a growing need to better
understand the tradeoffs associated with large wildfires. In
addition, there is a need to better understand how the forest
dynamics and structure of key forest types and habitats (e.g. old
growth and diverse early successional vegetation) are changing as a
result of the cumulative effects of large fires, logging, fire
suppression, and fuel reduction activity. The project would integrate
of multi-date satellite imagery, FIA inventory plots and targeted
field sampling to characterize recent historical dynamics and
estimate effects at stand and landscape scales. The work will
require use of fire, succession, and wildlife habitat models to
characterize ecological effects and future trends.
The student should have a M.S. degree with experience and skills in
several of the following areas: GIS, remote sensing, landscape
ecology, forest ecology, fire ecology and ecological modeling. The
GRA position includes a stipend of about $22,000/yr, tuition waver,
and support for research activities. For more information about the
Department and application procedures please go
to:
<http://fes.forestry.oregonstate.edu/>http://fes.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
and click on the link for Prospective Students.
For more information about the position please contact Dr. Thomas A.
Spies, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, College of
Forestry, Oregon State
University.
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]; 541-750-7354.
