We are seeking a landscape ecologist or ecological modeller to lead the development of a mixed severity fire regime simulation model that will permit spatial forecasting of forest structure and composition over the 21st century, and backcasting over the past several centuries. The intended applications are to integrated land and forest management on a multi-use landscape of roughly 1,000,000 ha in the foothills of southern Alberta, Canada. There is also an important historical component through the Mountain Legacy Project.
The work will be conducted as part of a multidisciplinary team, integrating data from many sources and disciplines e.g. dendrochronological studies, historical fire maps, remote sensed vegetation and forest management data. The model is to be developed in SpaDES an R-based system for developing modular, high performance simulation models integrating processes such as vegetation dynamics, natural disturbances, and forest harvesting. The project leads are E. McIntire (UBC/CFS), S. Cumming (U Laval), L. Daniels (UBC), Z. Gedalof (U. Guelph), E.S. Higgs (U. Victoria) and D. Andison (UBC).
We offer a 1 year (renewable) Postdoctoral Fellowship at the level of CAD 51,000 per year, plus benefits, with a CAD 4,000 per year research budget. The position will be located at in the McIntire lab at the Pacific Forestry Center, Canadian Forest Service, Victoria, BC, Canada. The position is funded by the Foothills Research Institute’s Healthy Landscapes Program.
Qualifications:
• Experience with spatial simulation modelling, and in the analytical methods used to estimate model parameters from data (e.g. statistical modelling, Pattern Oriented Modelling) • Knowledge of fire ecology and fire regime modelling • High-level R programming skills; knowledge of C++ and Python will be as asset
• Data management skills • A track record of peer-reviewed publication
Start Date:
As soon as possible.
To apply:
Applicants should submit by email a short statement of interest, a sample of their scientific writing, a current CV, and the names of three references.
Eliot McIntire, Adjunct Prof UBC, Research Scientist CFS eliot.mcintire@canada.ca, 1-250-298-2374