PhD: Moss traits and fire ignition in high-latitude peatland & tundra ecosystems

Are you intrigued by interactions between vegetation and fire? Are you passionate about lab-, field-, and remote sensing-based research? Do you like solving scientific puzzles? We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to explore how moss traits affect fire ignitability in high-latitude ecosystems.

Northern ecosystems, including boreal peatlands and tundra, are warming faster than almost anywhere else on Earth, which is changing their structure and functioning. Permafrost thaw and increasing fire frequency threaten to turn these ecosystems from carbon sinks into carbon, further accelerating climate change. Bryophytes (including mosses) dominate the vegetation across much of these carbon-dense ecosystems. Because of their unique water-retention and insulating properties, they largely determine how susceptible these regions are to severe wildfires. This PhD project examines the relationship between bryophyte functional traits and fire dynamics at the plant, ecosystem, and biome scales, combining lab experiments, fieldwork, and remote sensing. Building on the PEN research line on vegetation-climate feedbacks, your work will advance our understanding of the functional role of bryophytes in fire dynamics and help improve fire risk assessments for these vulnerable systems.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Developing methods and designing and executing experiments to test moss ignitability
• Conducting fieldwork in high-latitude ecosystems, including vegetation surveys, monitoring environmental conditions during and after fires, and possibly drone-based observations
• Analysing remote sensing data and global vegetation databases
• Publishing your research in peer-reviewed journals and presenting it at national and international conferences
• Co-supervising BSc and MSc students

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation group, specifically within the Vegetation-Climate Feedbacks team. You will be co-supervised by Dr. Thomas Janssen, Dr. José van Paassen and Dr. Juul Limpens.