鍥介檯浜ゆ祦
Post-doctoral position available relating to plant root system ecosystem services
Title: Do shallow and deep root traits contribute differently to soil processes?
Post-doctoral position (21 months) at UMR CEFE (Centre d鈥橢cologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive), Montpellier, France
The post-doc position is supported by the French ANR project named 鈥淓COSFIX: Ecosystem Services of Roots 鈥 Hydraulic Redistribution, Carbon Sequestration and Soil Fixation鈥?
Job description
The aim of the post-doc is to test whether root traits differ spatially along the soil profile and to investigate the impact of shallow and deep root traits on mechanisms controlling soil C storage, soil fixation and hydraulic redistribution.
Soil processes are strongly affected by climatic conditions, land use and plant community composition. However there is now a growing consensus that the functional structure of plant communities (i.e. species identity, abundance, value and distribution of functional traits) rather than species number strongly determine soil services. Whether root functional traits affect soil processes has rarely been considered although roots may represent up to 87% of the total plant biomass and are the main entrance of C in the soil. In the ECOSFIX project we hypothesise that i) plant community composition affects shallow/deep root traits, ii) shallow and deep root functional traits affect mechanisms controlling soil C storage, soil fixation and hydraulic redistribution, iii) soil processes are highly dependent on the traits of the dominant species. To test these hypotheses, shallow/deep root traits will be measured in four experimental sites presenting a wide range of abiotic and biotic conditions ranging from subalpine (Chamrousse, France), Mediterranean (Montpellier, France) and tropical (Costa Rica and Laos) ecosystems.
The post-doc will first select root traits which best contribute to the three ecosystem services under study and normalize methods that will be applied in the four sites. He/she will focus on root traits involved in soil fixation (root distribution, maximum rooting depth, toughness, diameter鈥?, C storage (turnover, chemical composition, decomposition鈥? and hydraulic redistribution. Secondly he/she will measure shallow/deep roots traits both at the community and species level in the four field sites. Thirdly he/she will analyse data to test the existence of general relationship between shallow/deep root traits and plant community composition and soil processes in collaboration with partners measuring ecosystems services.
The candidatewill spend long periods in the field and thus be able to work independently as well as being adaptable to cultures. It will be necessary for the candidate to communicate between the different partners, organize fieldwork and data analyses; fluency in French and English is desired. A PhD/background in ecology, ecophysiology, soil biology and agronomy is preferred.
Starting date: 1rst September (negotiable)
Salary: 1900锛?month
Please send CV and accompanying letter before 30 April to:
Dr Catherine Roumet
Centre d鈥橢cologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, URM 5175
1919 Route de Mende,
F-34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France
Email:catherine.roumet@cefe.cnrs.fr
Tel : 04 67 61 32 40