Beschreibung

The international DFG Research Training Group FORSCALE “Scale effects in Forest Adaptation to Climate Change” explores how forest ecosystems can be actively adapted to climate change. The German-Canadian doctoral programme integrates ecological, social, economic, and legal perspectives across multiple scales – from molecular processes to landscapes, and from local to political levels. Forests are understood as complex adaptive systems in constant interaction with society and the environment.

In the subproject “Adaptation and acclimation of forest trees to late spring frost under climate change”, we aim to integrate molecular and ecophysiological data to understand the adaptation and acclimation strategies to late-spring frost (LSF), with direct implications for predicting forest vulneratbility under climate change. We will expose seedlings of European and Canadian tree provenances to LSF to characterize susceptibility across phenological stages. We will screen gene expression with RNAseq and qPCR analysis (for time-series analysis). In addition, we will study chlorophyll fluorescence, stomatal conductance, and electrolyte leakage during and after stress exposure to characterize tissue damage. Thus, the project is a combination of field work (collection of seeds and plant material), experiments in greenhouses and climate chambers (including the ecophysiological measurements), lab work (RNA extractions, qPCR) and bioinformatic analysis, to address pressing questions regarding LSF resistance of diverse tree provenances under climate change.

The programme is research-oriented and structured, in close cooperation with six Canadian universities. Doctoral candidates are expected to spend several months in Canada and work closely with local researchers at Lakehead University and the Canadian Forest Service. In Freiburg, you will be part of the Eva Mayr-Stihl Professorship of Forest Genetics, a young and international team investigating the molecular basis of forest adaptation and acclimation (https://uni-freiburg.de/enr-forgen/).

If you would like to join the FORSCALE team and hold a Master’s degree in Forestry, Biology, Environmental Sciences or a related field, and are experienced in some of the abovementioned tasks and willing to learn the others, please apply by 20 September with the following documents in a single PDF file:

Cover letter with research interests
CV and academic certificates
Example of a scientific work (English preferred)
Contact details of at least two references

The position is limited to 3,5 years The salary will be determined in accordance with TVL13.

We will be particularly pleased to receive applications from women for the position advertised here.

Bewerbung

Please send your application in English including supporting documents mentioned above citing the reference number 00004501, by 20. September 2025 at the latest. Please send your application to the following address in written or electronic form:

katrin.heer@forgen.uni-freiburg.de

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Katrin Heer on the phone number +49 761 203-3647 or E-Mail katrin.heer@forgen.uni-freiburg.de.