Assistant technician position in landscape modelling and data analyses in Solsona (InForest JRU, CTFC-CREAF)

We offer a technician position in landscape modelling and analysis of environmental data to join the Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology Lab at the InForest Join Research Unit (CREAF-CTFC-CEMFOR) in the context of global change impacts on Mediterranean systems.

Main tasks to develop include assistance in the development, maintenance, and analyses of the data generated by different forest landscape models currently being used by the group for research purposes. These models are spatially explicit and allow generating landscape dynamics and fire regime variability scenarios. Our main modelling framework is currently the MEDFIRE model.

The position will be framed within the FORESTCAST project (CGL2014- 457 59742-C2-2-R) and the ERA-NET 459 FORESTERRA project INFORMED (29183). The successful candidate will also work on the technical model documentation and may be involved in the scientific articles derived from the modelling activities.

Requirements 

• University degree, preferably in an environmental area (Biology, Forestry, Geography) but also open to other areas (Maths, Physics, etc) when experience in environmental issues can be demonstrated.
• Previous experience in Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing and management of large data sets (e.g. Forest Inventories).
• Previous experience in teamwork.
• Strong background in statistical and modelling analysis (i.e. previous experience in R statistical language).

Other aspects

• Active involvement or experience in environmental modelling frameworks.
• High level programming skills.
• Publication record in international journals.

Working conditions

• The preselected candidates will go through a personal interview including specific tests on the required skills.
• Working place is at the CTFC-CEMFOR in Solsona (Lleida) and the initial contract is of for one year with possibility of extension. - Initial test period of 30 days.
• Salary according to the legal setting established by the CTFC.

Please send CV, reference contacts (at least 2) and a presentation letter (one page maximum) via e-mail, before February 10th 2016 to lluis.brotons@ctfc.cat

Institutional and research context

The InFOREST JRU is a joint research venture by CTFC and CREAF. These are two forest research centres belonging to the Catalan network CERCA. One cornerstone of the InForest JRU is that it is built on strong national, European and global networks (Canada, Australia, etc), fact that sets up the offer place in an international scope research group. Mediterranean forests are complex socio-ecosystems characterized by an important biodiversity, high levels of spatial environmental heterogeneity, deep interlinking with human populations to which they provide a bunch of ecosystem services. Mediterranean forests are also considered as a hotspot of global change impacts. Based on meta-disciplinary research, our research vision will develop a dynamic approach of the resilience of Mediterranean forests by considering an integrated socio-ecosystem where management, ecological processes, and socio-economic processes interact. Climate change, land-use changes and new demands on ecosystem services act on the system as new disturbance factors or modify previous disturbance regime (fire), which will simultaneously impact the different compartments of the system.

The InForest JRU aims to fill-in knowledge gaps on the basic mechanisms that determine the response to disturbance of the socio-ecosystem, and extend existing models to integrate different processes and perform simulations accounting for their interactions. Modelling expertise by researchers included in the InForest JRU includes: forest dynamics and silviculture, fire behaviour, fire vegetation succession, niche models and optimization strategy and scenario development. Acquired knowledge of the InForest JRU research activity aims to be translated into operational recommendations and tools to support decision, from silviculture at stand level to framework planning and to policy making at regional or national scale. Beyond the cross-evaluation of current practices or organizations (e.g. evaluation of fire prevention strategies on biodiversity evolution or on the response to drought stress), we aim to propose innovative, alternative but still operational, management strategies.