PhD assistantship 1)
We are looking for a PhD graduate research
assistant in the Department of Forestry at the University of Missouri to
model effects of fuels treatments on reduction of fire risk and
restoration of oak-pine forests in Central Hardwood Forest landscapes.
This position will be part of a team consisting of Drs. Hong He, Ben
Knapp, and Brice Hanberry (Forestry), and Dr. John Kabrick (US Forest
Service Northern Research Station) for a project funded by the Joint
Fire Science Program.
The objective of the project is to determine
how strategic landscape placement of fuels treatments can limit the
severity of large wildfires to minimize fire risk and maximize
ecological restoration of oak and pine forests and woodlands. We will
use field-based studies from multiple prescribed burn plots to quantify
the effects of fuels treatments on forest composition and structure and
to parameterize and validate FVS-FFE and LANDIS PRO. We then will answer
four questions through simulation of the following scenarios: 1) How
does the amount and configuration of fuels treatments across landscapes
influence intensity, rate of spread, or patterns of severity for
subsequent large wildfires?, 2) How does fire risk vary with
characteristics of fuels treatments, climatic variables, and
environmental conditions?, 3) What landscape fuels treatment strategies
are most effective at reaching restoration objectives for forest
structure and composition?, and 4) How can landscape fuels treatment
strategies maintain effectiveness over the short-term (<20 and="" br="" long-term="" mid-term="" years="">
PhD assistantship 2)
We
are looking for a PhD graduate research assistant in the School of
Natural Resources at the University of Missouri to work on a project
Forecasting Landscape Change under Savannah and Woodland Restoration in
Mixed Forest Ownerships. The candidate will test the applicability of
LANDIS-PRO forest landscape model for analysis of forest planning
alternatives, using the new forest-level data sets that were developed
to support carbon assessments. In particular, these data sets capture
the history of landscape-scale disturbances (harvesting, fire, insects,
etc.) for each forest, as well as many other attributes both spatial and
non-spatial, establishing a basis for modeling the possible future
trajectories of outcomes of forest plans given the initial stand
conditions and probabilities of future disturbances. The results of the
LANDIS-PRO simulations will be compared with the results of other models
(both empirical and process-based) on vegetation structure and carbon
stocks. This modeling study will be done on a national forest to be
selected as the study planning progresses.
This position will be part
of a team consisting of Drs. Hong He, Drs. Stephen Shifley and Richard
Birdsey (US Forest Service Northern Research Station).
Contact Information:
Qualified
applicants will have knowledge and skills in modeling programs such as
LANDIS and computer programming skills (i.e. R, SAS, Python), as well as
knowledge of forest ecology. Position start date is August 2014. Review
of applications begins immediately and continues until the positions
are filled. Applicants should have a M.S. in forestry, ecology, biology,
geography or a closely related discipline, a GPA > 3.2, and combined
verbal and quantitative GRE scores > 1100.
Please submit an
application including 1) a cover letter describing your interest and
experience in these areas, 2) a resume, and 3) names and contact
information of three references, 4) copies of transcripts and GRE scores
(unofficial at this time are acceptable). All applications should be
sent to:
Hong S. He (advisor)
Department of Forestry
University of Missouri
203 Natural Resources Building
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:Heh@missouri.edu
Or
Brice Hanberry
Department of Forestry
University of Missouri
203 Natural Resources Building
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:hanberryb@missouri.edu