3 Postdoc positions within forest microbiome assisted afforestation

Employment type: FULLTIME. Requisition: 3126163. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management and Department of Biology, invites applicants for three two-year Postdoc positions within forest microbiome manipulation.

The positions are part of the project “MycoForest - Stimulating Forest carbon uptake and storage by mycorrhizal inoculation”, which is financed under the Innomission partnership INNO-CCUS by Innovation Fund Denmark. Start date is 1 February 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project The soil microbiome plays a crucial role in soil- and ecosystem functioning including ecosystem carbon sequestration and support of plant nutrient acquisition. Denmark is devoted to become carbon neutral by 2045/2050, a goal involving a significant role for biological carbon sequestration and storage.

A part of the Danish strategy to reach carbon neutrality is to afforest former agricultural land thereby increasing biological ecosystem carbon capture and storage. However, agricultural soils do not harbor an optimal microbiome for initial tree growth and forest ecosystem development.

This may lead to increased mortality, reduced tree growth and slower development of forest soil functions and ultimately non-optimal carbon capture, especially in the early stages of afforestation1 …