The successful applicant will participate full-time in a project funded by the Academy of Finland, entitled "Plant-soil Processes in Peatlands Under a Warming Climate." This project will investigate the impacts ofwarming and water table level drawdown on:

- Carbon gas exchange between ecosystem and atmosphere;
- Above- and below-ground carbon inputs into the soil (quantity and chemical quality);
- Organic matter decomposition; and
- Allocation of carbon within the system.

The project includes a considerable amount of field work.

Interested applicants should have a PhD with research experience in ecology or comparable fields (e.g., biology, forest sciences,biogeochemistry), and have knowledge of vegetation, carbon gas dynamics,and northern ecosystems. Other qualifications include the motivation to carry out field studies, experience in analyzing complex data, and the desire and proven ability to prepare manuscripts for peer-review in a timely manner. An understanding of process modeling and/or organic chemistry, as well as experience in labeling experiments are desirable.The preferred start date for the position is April-May 2011.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter (please reference code 400-41-11), curriculum vitae, brief statement of research interests, and the names and contact information of three references to:

Finnish Forest Research Institute
Box 18/Jokiniemenkuja
01301 Vantaa
Finland

Application deadline: Friday, 1 April 2011.

For further information on the Peatland Ecology Group, please click here.

For questions, please contact:

Eeva-Stiina Tuittila
Phone: +358 9-1915-8147
Email: eevastiina.tuittila@helsinki.fi

Kari Minkkinen
Email: kari.minkkinen@helsinki.fi

Hannu Fritze
Email: hannu.fritze@metla.fi

Raija Laiho
Email: raija.laiho@helsinki.fi