Internships
The Biology Centre of the CAS announces an open competition in accordance with the Act No. 283/1992 Coll. on the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Statutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences for a position Pyrogenic organic matter stabilization in forest soils affected by climate gradient.
Laboratory of Soil Organic Matter, Institute of Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry, Biology Centre CAS
Supervisor: Mgr. Veronika Jílková, Ph. D.
Title: Pyrogenic organic matter stabilization in forest soils affected by climate gradient
Forest wildfires lead to the production of chemically altered biomass residues known as pyrogenic organic matter (pyOM), which has been thought to be highly resistant and contribute to soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. A significant portion of pyOM may, however, be utilized by soil biota and as such may be fragmented, digested, and released as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or stabilized in the soil. In addition, soil succession after the fire event and climate change may have a significant effect on all of the biotic processes. As part of a field study, we observe successional changes in the soil properties on a 100-year post-fire chronosequence in pine forests in the Mediterranean, temperate, and boreal zones and along the soil profile. Your task will be to assess C content in soil fractions and proportion and quality of pyOM. Experience with chemical analytical methods (and possibly also with GC-MS and HPLC) is required.
The internship is supposed to take place during summer months (from June to September 2024).
For questions or enquiries, please contact: veronika.jilkova@upb.cas.cz
Application deadline: 04/30/2024