Research Associate (Fixed Term)

The tropics harbour more species than anywhere else on Earth. This biodiversity supports a number of ecosystem services benefits that humankind derives from the natural environment¿that are essential for human well-being and socioeconomic opportunities. Of particular importance is timber and associated wood products. Yet the overexploitation of timber via selective logging in tropical forests threatens the long-term sustainable flow of this vital resource, the survival of harvested species, and the hyper-diversity of unexploited flora and fauna within logged forests.

Our previous work has identified the high conservation value of selectively logged tropical forests but the potential for unsustainable trade, including under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). We have used meta-analysis to contrast the environmental outcomes of native secondary restoration versus timber plantations, and phylogenetic and trait-based modelling to infer species extinction risk.  We have also developed remote-sensing algorithms to detect selective logging in the Amazon, with these approaches since adopted by Peru's forest oversight agency (OSINFOR) who are using them to detect illegal logging in the Peruvian Amazon. We now seek to use a combination of these approaches and forest growth modelling, to determine at pan-tropical scale whether timber offtake is sustainable for exploited species and to assess species' relative risk of overexploitation.

This Postdoctoral Research Associate post will tackle these key strands of research, reporting directly to Professor David Edwards. It will tackle two main Objectives: (1) Quantify the degree of sustainability in current selective logging operations pan-tropically, by drawing together existing evidence in a meta-analytic framework; and (2) Estimate sustainable offtake rates for exploited tree species at varying densities, using species' vital rates extracted from the extensive global networks of repeat-measured forest plots, forest growth models, and phylogenetic and functional trait-based interpolation. 

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will work with large datasets, including forest plot and logging data, phylogenies and trait matrices, meta-analysis, and possibly remote-sensing products.  They will deliver high-quality analyses and publish these in leading scientific journals. They will work with a high degree of independence, as appropriate seeking input from Prof Edwards and the wider network of collaborators engaged in the Centre for Global Wood Security, which Edwards is founding and directing. 

Please ensure that you upload a covering letter and CV as well as a publications list in the Upload section of the online application. Please also include a 1-2 proposal about how you would deliver this research. The covering letter should outline why you are interested in the post and how you match the criteria for the post. 

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years in the first instance. 

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click on the apply button above. 

Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful. 

Please quote reference PD42627 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy. 

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. 

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

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