We are looking for a PhD student (3 years) or postdoctoral researcher (2 years) in the subproject “Carbon storage as a function of biodiversity”.
Tasks:
Investigation of the effect of biodiversity on water and element cycling, particularly with regard to:
1. Soil organic matter storage (C and N)
2. DOC-export
3. organic matter flow from the plants into soil (at the ECOTRON facility in Montpellier, France)
this includes in particular the
- Quantification of the newly stored soil organic matter based on 14C isotope mass balances
- Extraction of plant and microbial biomarkers from soil, to identify the quality and origin of stored soil carbon
- Analysis of DOC export from a long-term biodiversity experiment (since 2002)
- Investigation of 13C-labels in soil and biomarkers from the experiment
Candidates should have:
- Master / Diploma in the fields of biodiversity, biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry, geoecology or chemistry
- Strong skills to work with databases (Access) and with statistical analysis of complex data sets
- Experience with soil organic matter (SOC) and dissolved organic matter (DOC)
- Experience with the extraction of chemical markers (biomarkers)
- Experience with isotops and biomarkers desirable
The Max Planck Society is committed to employing more handicapped individuals and especially encourages them to apply.
In order to ensure full consideration, a curriculum vitae, statement of professional goals, and the names of references should directed by Email to skoecher@bgc-jena.mpg.de no later than September 15, 2011, keyword „Jena Experiment“.
Max-Planck-Institut
für Biogeochemie
Hans-Knöll-Str. 10
07745 Jena