Global Change and Fire Ecology: A postdoctoral position is available at the University of California, Davis, Department of Environmental & Policy to work with a diverse team on aspects of global change as it affects the Sierra Nevada and its forest resources and processes. Working with USDA Forest Service and the Information Center for the Environment (http://ice.ucdavis.edu/) principal investigators, the postdoctoral scholar will take the lead on a number of ongoing ecological studies, and help develop and synthesize models of fire ecology for California, with a specific focus on the Sierra Nevada. The models will be used to answer questions relating to fire and resource management, including but not limited to historical and current conditions, potential changes with regional climate warming, and forest planning.
We seek a recent PhD with a degree in ecology, geography, or related field with the following qualifications: GIS/RS expertise; database management proficiency; one or more programming languages (e.g., AML, IDL, Python, C++, VB/VBA/.NET); statistical and quantitative skills (e.g., R); strong background in landscape ecology and/or fire ecology; superb communication skills; and proven collegiality. Some experience in science application to resource management is preferred. The scholar will be responsible for taking the lead on a number of ongoing as well as incipient projects. Ongoing projects include a study of fire rotation, high severity fire and generation of snag habitat in the Sierra Nevada; a study evaluating the effects of low productivity soils on fire regimes in northern California; and a study comparing fire regimes in unmanaged conifer forests of NW Mexico and heavily managed forests in the eastern Sierra Nevada and southern California. New projects will include the development of spatially explicit models of current fire regime and fire behavior and linking these to landscape variables, climate models, and priority management areas for National Forest planning. The position is under the direction of lead investigators Dr. Hugh Safford (USDA FS Region 5 and UC Davis) and Dr. Josh Viers (UC Davis), but will involve interaction with other professional scientists on and off campus. Collaborators include the USDA FS Pacific Southwest Region Remote Sensing Lab (http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/rsl/), the Sierra Nevada Research Center (http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/snrc/), the Center for Watershed Sciences (http://watershed.ucdavis.edu/), the Center for Spatial Technologies and Remote Sensing (http://cstars.ucdavis.edu/), and the Harrison Lab (http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Harrison/). There is one year of guaranteed funding for the position, with an additional year possible. The salary range is $36-45k per year, depending on experience, with full benefits. The start date is flexible, but preferred on or before July 1st, 2010. Email an electronic application package including full CV, a cover letter addressing your research interests and qualifications, relevant publications, contact information for 4 references. Please send application materials to: Dr. Josh Viers (jhvi...@ucdavis.edu). Review of applications will begin June 1, 2010, and continue until the position is filled.
