Doctoral position (m/f/d) on Tree-water-relations

Doctoral position (m/f/d) on Tree-water-relations

NEU

Teilzeit

Forschung und Lehre

The CRC 1537 - ECOSENSE invites applications for a doctoral researcher (m/f/d) position at the Chair of Ecosystem Physiology Doctoral position (m/f/d) on Tree-water-relations

Bewerbungsfrist: 15. April 2026

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 23. März 2026

Eintrittstermin: 1. Juli 2026

Arbeitsumfang: Part-time position (75 %)

Kennziffer: 00004903

Beschreibung

Who we are:

In ECOSENSE we explore new ways to quantify ecosystem processes and stress impact of climate change by developing novel sensor principles and measurement methods ( ). We established a comprehensive infrastructure and sensor network in a nearby forest including three canopy access towers.

For our second phase starting this July we are seeking 15 doctoral researchers from environmental and engineering sciences. ECOSENSE offers highly interdisciplinary research and training in a cooperative and vivid working environment.

In project B3 (Sensing water potentials from leaf to stand scale) we will investigate continuous water potential dynamics and plant water fluxes across the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum to identify hot spots and moments of water stress in the ECOSENSE Forest. Our project partners will develop and apply novel, minimally invasive sensor solutions for distributed measurements complemented by scalable proxies for water potential tracking at the stand scale.

The doctoral researcher will be part of the Chair of Ecosystem Physiology, which is a dynamic and vivid team, strongly involved in ECOSENSE. The group is well-connected nationally and internationally, as well as within the University of Freiburg and Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment.

Your Task:

Within ECOSENSE you will establish a comprehensive sensor network of sap flow, dendrometer and water potential sensors in the ECOSENSE forest on European beech and Douglas fir. The central aim is to gather continuous water potential data across the soil-root-plant-atmosphere continuum to investigate the impact of extreme events (e.g. heat and drought) and species interactions on tree adaptation strategies, including the role of capacitance. A clear focus is on the application of (novel) measurement technologies to collect continuous water potential data, such as optical dendrometers, microtensiometers and psychrometers. While the majority of measurements will be conducted in the field, you will also measure continuous water potentials in laboratory and climate chamber settings as part of controlled experiments and calibration of novel sensors developed by our partners. You will work in close collaboration with the doctoral researchers remote sensing who will a) link tree-level water potential measurements with remote sensing principles and b) develop and calibrate novel sensors to enable highly distributed measurements of water potentials in the ECOSENSE forest. All collected data will be linked to the results of other projects in ECOSENSE to identify hot spots and hot moments of stress at different scales in the ECOSENSE forest.

Your qualifications and contributions to ECOSENSE:

· You hold a Masters degree in Environmental Sciences, Geoecology or related fields

· Excellent background in ecosystem and plant physiology, including plant water fluxes and potentials

· Experience in field work (in the forest including tall towers) is a plus

· Experience with sap flow, water potential, dendrometer and psychrometer sensors is a plus

· Enthusiasm for novel technical applications and technological developments