Postdoc in shrub expansion and ecosystem responses in Subarctic tundra

A 2-year postdoctoral fellowship is available from 16 January 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter in the Terrestrial Ecology Section within the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen. The position is available in a project assessing the role of shrubs as drivers of ecosystem changes in the Subarctic.

In this project, we conduct field and laboratory analyses in order to get a better understanding of the role of low shrubs in vegetation changes, nitrogen cycling and carbon sequestration in subarctic ecosystems. The host research group focuses on Plant Physiological Ecology & Biogeochemistry and it is led by Professor Anders Michelsen at University of Copenhagen.

The work includes field visit(s) to long-term experimental sites near Abisko in Northern Sweden, and collaboration with Associate Research Prof. Matteo Campioli at University of Antwerpen.

Project overview The project is aimed at studying plant responses to long-term experimental warming in Subarctic tundra heath ecosystems, including biomass changes and warming impacts on plant nitrogen uptake as well as primary and secondary growth. Subarctic heaths are one of the ecosystem types most affected by the ongoing climatic changes, showing large biotic changes such as shrubification1 …