Interdisciplinary PhD Research Assistantships in Forest Landscape Dynamics and Ecosystem Resilience. Up to five Ph.D. research assistantships are available to join a collaborative team working to evaluate the resiliency of social and ecological systems in the complex forested landscapes of the US northern Rockies. Forest ecosystems here are experiencing climate- induced increases in size and severity of wildfires and insect outbreaks, altered snowmelt and streamflow, and drought in concert with ongoing, rapid socioeconomic changes. Our project http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/igert2/ is funded by NSF-IGERT. Apply by 4 Jan 2010:
Description of potential projects and faculty to contact with questions: PhD Asst Landscape Disturbance & Climate Change in forest ecosystems of US northern Rockies. Thresholds of resilience; interactions of climate, fire, bark beetles, vegetation and land use; modeling landscape dynamics. Contact Penny Morgan (pmor...@uidaho.edu), Philip Higuera (phigu...@uidaho.edu) or Jeff Hicke (jhi...@uidaho.edu). Join interdisciplinary NSF-IGERT research on resiliency of social and ecological systems. PhD Assistantship Ecosystem Response to Disturbance. Nature, magnitude, and distinguishing attributes of large, severe ecosystem disturbances and the associated biophysical recovery processes under different physical, political and social contexts. Contact Alistair Smith (alist...@uidaho.edu) and Eva Strand (e...@uidaho.edu). PhD Asst Social Perceptions of Landscape Disturbance & Management Policies. Role of adaptive capacity, stakeholder knowledge, and sense of place in effectively responding to climate change, fires, bark beetle and other disturbances; how perceptions and attitudes of ecosystem change and management are shaped by scientific information, personal values, and prior experiences; effect of social perceptions on management. Contact Troy Hall (tr...@uidaho.edu) and Jo Ellen Force (joel...@uidaho.edu). PhD Asst Ecohydrological impacts of climate change. Modeling cascading effects on ecosystem processes and distribution and abundance of plant species. Implications for forest ecosystems in the US northern Rockies. Contact Katy Kavanagh (ka...@uidaho.edu), Tim Link (tl...@uidaho.edu) and Jodi Johnson Maynard (jmayn...@uidaho.edu). PhD Assistantship in Plant-Soil-Disturbance Interactions & Carbon. How plant-soil interactions vary with fire severity across a range of spatial and temporal scales, and implications for soil carbon dynamics. Contact Jodi Johnson-Maynard (jmayn...@uidaho.edu), Katy Kavanagh (k...@uidaho.edu) and Alistair Smith (alist...@uidaho.edu). This is part of a larger project that will place teams in both Costa Rica and in Idaho to address resiliency of social and ecological systems in landscapes actively used by people and important in conservation. More information about these assistantships and the larger project: (http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/igert2/)
