Postdoctoral position OT-27995
Post-doctoral researcher to study drought legacy effects under elevated CO2
33140 VILLENAVE-D'ORNON
INRAE presentation
The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.
Work environment, missions and activities
We are looking for an enthusiastic researcher with a background in plant hydraulics and ecosystem modelling.
- Background
Plant hydraulic traits describe the water transport and storage properties of roots, stems, branches, and leaves. These traits are partially coordinated and, together, define the water transport efficiency and hydraulic safety margin of a given tree species. It is unknown how growth variations under rising CO2 and a changing climate will affect this coordination of plant hydraulic traits. On one hand, the higher water use efficiency associated with higher atmospheric CO2 should enhance plant growth and shorten the legacy of droughts and heatwaves. On the other hand, more severe and more frequent droughts and heatwaves should compromise the xylem efficiency and safety over multiple years. Within the project PHydrauCC, we explore these interactions between tree growth and hydraulic traits under ambient and elevated CO2 using data from Free-Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE) facilities, with the aim to develop a new theory and dynamic model of tree growth and xylem formation and their associated hydraulic traits.
- Tasks
You will participate in the development of such new model to study how legacy effects on plant growth of major drought and heat wave events, in combination with elevated CO2, affects the efficiency and safety of the xylem, and thus forest resilience. For this, you will enhance the ecosystem model MuSICA, and evaluate the model using several data streams. In particular, a unique dataset combining plant hydraulic traits and wood anatomy from several FACE sites under ambient and elevated CO2 will be crucial to understand legacy effects, e.g., the recovery from droughts taking several years, or the observed slow death of trees over several years.
- Environment
The successful candidate will join the IPSA research unit on the INRAE campus in Bordeaux, France, and will work closely with Jérôme Ogée and Rémi Lemaire-Patin, as well as other members of the PHydrauCC team (Matthias Cuntz, Jean-Christophe Domec, Emilie Joetzjer, Cyrille Rathgeber and Lisa Wingate).
Training and skills
- Recommended training: PhD in forest ecological modelling
- Knowledge required: modelling plant hydraulics and forest functioning
- Appreciated experience: programming (e.g., R, Git, Python, Fortran, etc.)
- Skills sought: Ability to carry out independent and well-organised research, as well as work as part of a team; Good spoken and written English language skills (demonstrated through scientific production and dissemination)
INRAE's life quality
By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):
- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.
How to apply
I send my CV and my motivation letter
All persons employed by or hosted at INRAE, a public research establishment, are subject to the Civil Service Code, particularly with regard to the obligation of neutrality and respect for the principle of secularism. In carrying out their functions, whether or not they are in contact with the public, they must not express their religious, philosophical or political convictions through their behaviour or by what they wear. > Find out more: fonction publique.gouv.fr website (in French)