Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainable Rangeland Restoration

The Department of Physical Geography is one of the major departments within the Faculty of Science. The department has approximately 115 employees and educates approximately 1 000 students annually. Education is oriented towards geography, geosciences, biology-earth sciences, and environmental protection and environmental management. The main research areas are: Landscape, Evironment and Geomatics, Climate Science and Quaternary Geology, Geomorphology and Glaciology, and Water, Permafrost and Environmental systems.

Project description
The position will be based in the research group of Nature and Environmental Management, with Assoc. Prof. Anna Treydte. The research group is dealing with various topics on land use management, biodiversity conservation, rangeland restoration and invasive plant species management, using a socio-ecological approach.

The project on Sustainable Rangeland Restoration is focusing on eastern African rangelands that are facing challenges through overgrazing, climate change, and declining land available for an increasing pastoralist population and their livestock. Degraded rangelands have an interrupted or not functioning soil-plant-herbivore interaction pathway that often ends in eroded and bush-encroached land that cannot be utilized by pastoralist communities as well as native or domestic herbivores any more. To achieve sustainable restoration and long-term resilience, active and community-supported, participatory measures must be taken. These measures range from plant reseeding, soil treatment, rangeland exclosures and resting periods as well as promoting a healthy, productive and native plant community.

The post-doc will identify and quantify the effectiveness of a variety of tools and their combinations in an interdisciplinary manner, working closely together with communities and organizations on site.

Main responsibilities
The position involves research on plant-soil interactions and on how to enhance biodiversity as well as productivity of palatable native plant species in degraded rangelands of eastern Africa, preferrably Tanzania. The research will be based on socio-ecological principles, i.e., finding the most applicable, paricipatory and community-accepted as well as low-cost approach that can promote a long-term sustainable restoration process. The research will be on appropriate herbaceous species composition, soil treatment technologies as well as prediciton models on rangeland conditions over time under varying environmental and socio-economic scenarios that can be applied on various rangeland systems across the globe.

This position will require travel and research stays in Tanzania as well as theoretical analysis and modelling work based at SU, and a high publication output is expected.

Qualification requirements
Postdoctoral positions are appointed primarily for purposes of research. Applicants are expected to hold a Swedish doctoral degree or an equivalent degree from another country.

Assessment criteria
The degree should have been completed no more than three years before the deadline for applications. An older degree may be acceptable under special circumstances, which may involve sick leave, parental leave, clinical attachment, elected positions in trade unions, or similar.

In the appointment process, special attention will be given to research skills in data collection in the field, high-level data analysis capacities and knowledge in predictive modelling approaches. Strong writing and presentation skills are required. Further, the candidate should have experience in socio-ecological work, participatory management approaches, and field work. Interdisciplinary thinking as well as knowledge in trans-sectoral approaches, i.e., including governmental and non-governmental organizations in decision making, are of high advantage. We expect a high-quality publication output, experience of driving a research project, team work, and inter-cultural and impact-oriented research.

Terms of employment
The position involves full-time employment for a maximum of two years, with the possibility of extension under special circumstances. Start date 2021-09-01 or as per agreement.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact
Further information about the position can be obtained from senior lecturer Anna Treydte, telephone: +46 70 035 09 77, anna.treydte@natgeo.su.se.

Union representatives
Ingrid Lander (Saco-S), telephone: +46 708 16 26 64, saco@saco.su.se, Alejandra Pizarro Carrasco (Fackförbundet ST/Lärarförbundet), telephone: +46 8 16 34 89, alejandra@st.su.se, and seko@seko.su.se (SEKO).

Application
Apply for the position at Stockholm University’s recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline.

Please include the following information with your application

Your contact details and personal data
Your highest degree
Your language skills
Contact details for 2–3 references

and, in addition, please include the following documents

Cover letter
CV – degrees and other completed courses, work experience and a list of publications
Research proposal (no more than 3 pages) describing:
– why you are interested in the field/project described in the advertisement
– why and how you wish to complete the project
– what makes you suitable for the project in question
Copy of PhD diploma
Letters of recommendation (no more than 3 files)
Publications in support of your application (no more than 3 files).