PD-Position: Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Peatlands in Agriculture

Drained Dutch peatlands currently emit large quantities of greenhouse gasses due to peat degradation. Current emission reduction measures include raising the water table, passive and active water infiltration and paludiculture. You will further develop our understanding of GHG emissions of these peatlands and moreover study alternative land-management measures, specifically clay additions, on GHG emissions

We offer an exciting 3-year Postdoc position at the Vrije Universiteit in an interdisciplinary peatland focused research team (4 Postdocs, 4 PhD students and 4 senior researchers). This team directly links to the National Research Program on Greenhouse Gases from Peatlands (NOBV). The NOBV program already established a national monitoring network to quantify emissions and evaluate mitigation measures. We are using flux chamber and Eddy Covariance techniques to continuously track greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2, nitrous oxide, and methane) from Dutch peat soils with up to 5 years of high quality data. This monitoring network and its datasets form a unique starting point and the research infrastructure for the whole research team.

Your duties

• quantify emissions of CO2, Methane, and N2O from agricultural peatlands (natural and paludiculture)
• work on model improvements for upscaling emissions through clay additions
• work closely together with a PhD student on the effects of clay additions on GHG emissions
• publish results in scientific journals and present on scientific conferences
• contribute to maintaining and setting up field-sites
• closely collaborate and co-supervise the field-team
• participate in education of Earth Sciences and A-LIFE departments
• participate in outreach activities

Requirements:

• PhD in Biogeochemistry, hydrology or soil ecology, preferably towards GHG emissions of organic soils
• experience with (chamber) GHG measurements and data processing
• experience with field observation setups
• experience with large data sets
• proficiency with programming approaches and use of R/Python
• ability work in an interdisciplinary research team
• experience or affinity to teach and supervise student projects
• English language proficiency both in speech and in writing
• driving license

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

Salary Benefits:

A challenging and exciting position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 3.378,00 (Scale 10) and maximum € 6.209,00 (Scale 11) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year. After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, the contract will be extended for another 2 years.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• contribution to commuting expenses
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• discounts on collective insurances (healthcare- and car insurance)

De Boelelaan 1108