The
department of Physical Geography is searching for a PhD candidate who will investigate the impact of mountain greening on hydrology from an ecological perspective.
Your job The "GRAIT2" project aims to understand the impacts of mountain vegetation change on hydrology from a plant traits and ecological perspective. It combines knowledge and approaches from mountain hydrology and (palaeo)ecology.
You will employ a trait-based ecohydrological approach to quantify the impacts of different mountain species and traits, seasonal/annual greening variations, and greening mechanisms on the mountain water balance. To achieve this, you will conduct field and remote sensing studies in a small mountain catchment in the Swiss Alps and assess the hydrological effects of plant traits by conducting experiments in the
Utrecht University Botanic Gardens. To evaluate the effects of different mountain plants and greening processes on hydrological processes, you will integrate your findings with a physically-based ecohydrological model at both plot and catchment scales.
You will collaborate closely with your supervisors, other researchers from the department, and international collaborators.
In support of academic and personal development, PhD candidates will participate in courses and assist in teaching Earth Sciences at both Bachelor's and Master's levels. Collectively, these activities will comprise twenty percent of the contracted time.