The expansion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is one of the main drivers of land use change and deforestation in the tropics. This expansion provides significant economic earnings for producer countries, corporations and smallholders, but at the cost of negative externalities within and beyond the landscapes in which oil palm is grown. Stakeholders and decision makers need to devise and adopt ‘green’ development trajectories that balance better development and conservation goals in an environment with pervasive uncertainties.
The Oil Palm Adaptive Landscapes project OPAL is funded by the research for development program r4d of the Swiss National Science Foundation and is lead by Prof. J. Ghazoul, ETHZ.
The specific topic of this PhD, which will be accomplished at EPFL Lausanne, is to address the issue of soil organic matter (SOM). Soils and soil-plant interactions underpin the provision, regulating and supporting ecosystem services, and provide indicators of ecosystems health and integrity. Processes related to SOM and its turnover act as key indicators as to the state of soil function and derived services. We will test whether management practices (density, understory, etc.) serve to mitigate changes in nutrient dynamics, soil fertility and dissolved nutrient losses. Aim is to develop a set of biogeochemical indicators related to SOM as a response to land use.
You will work in different sites (potential sites are in Indonesia, Columbia and Cameroon) and collect soil samples along gradients of different land-use types (vegetation/understory management/historical land-use) in the different environmental setting.
- Task 1 will address soil status and its physical and chemical characterization, e.g. what is the current status of topsoils and topsoil organic matter and how do these physical and chemical characteristics vary along the gradients?
- Task 2 will address soil organic matter quality, e.g. how resilient (labile vs recalcitrant fractions) is the SOM along the gradients?
- Task 3 will address soil function such as litter decomposition, soil mineralization and respiration, e.g. how do decomposition and mineralization rates vary along the gradients? to what degree does aboveground vegetation type and land management control soil respiration? what drives decomposition? what is the state and function of the soil microbial community?
Data will be incorporated and explored in the context of participatory land-use models in collaboration with other project partners. These models aim to explore decision making under alternative future land use scenarios, and their impacts on ecosystem function and services.
You are highly motivated to work cooperatively in an interdisciplinary team, contributing with your topic to the broader scope of the project. You have a Master degree in biology, agronomy or environmental engineering, with some experience in soil science or ecology. Ability to do fieldwork in sometimes difficult or unforeseen conditions in the tropics is required. Skills in laboratory analysis and in statistics are necessary.
You have good communication skills and are fluent in written and spoken English (knowledge of French would be advantageous).
Please send your complete application to Sandra Levin (sandra.levinzurcher@epfl.ch). Prof. Alexandre Buttler (alexandre.buttler@epfl.ch; phone +41 (0)21 693 39 39) will be happy to answer any questions or provide further information.
Start is planed for January 2016.