Post-doctoral fellow in Microbial Ecology
Subject description
Microbial communities govern global biogeochemistry. They are the valve that rate regulate decomposition and nutrient mineralisation in soils, and simultaneously constitute the main pathway of atmospheric carbon (C) into soil fractions with long retention times. Climate change is recasting the environmental forcing that determine the microbial ecology that runs biogeochemistry, including warming, drought, thawing of frost, and the perturbations induced by extreme weather events. All this highlights that a fundamental understanding of microbial responses to environmental change is key to predict how biology will feedback to ongoing climate change.
This postdoc position will investigate how warming, drought, thawing frost, and extreme weather will impact on soil microbial communities by resolving responses in growth rates and associated microbial biogeochemistry (C, N and P cycling). In it, we will functionally characterise key microbial trait distribution at community levels and link these to taxonomic composition to unearth links between microbial structure and ecosystem function (https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecy.3594). Uncovered patterns will also be interfaced via conceptual models into ecosystem and global-scale models using e.g. LPJ GUESS / EC-Earth. You will be working closely with several researchers and PhD students to extend the breadth and cover of environmental factors. You work will include field work, the establishment of field experiments, laboratory experiments, and will be laboratory intensive.
The postdoc will also have large degrees of freedom, including the development of the project’s research focus and forms of research, in consultation with the host.
You will be working within the MBLU environment within the department of Biology at LU (https://portal.research.lu.se/en/organisations/microbial-biogeochemistry-in-lund ), which includes faculty, researchers, postdocs, PhD students and master students, together forming a thriving, curiosity driven research environment totalling 15-20 regular members.
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