Apply for PhD Scholarship Funding (France/Germany)

PhD candidates are invited to applying for funding at the University of Montpellier, France. Successful candidates will be chosen on the basis of their CV and academic success.

The PhD student will investigate the link between resistance to drought stress, root growth and soil microbial communities for different species of trees in European forests. A variety of mechanisms exist that enable trees to resist drought stress, but one of the least well known is the role that soil microbial communities play in enhancing water uptake.

Fieldwork will take place in four European countries (France, Germany, Serbia and Greece) and the PhD student will measure tree root growth, sample soil and tree organs and perform physiological measurements. Laboratory analyses include the measurement of microbial diversity, functional traits and soil physical/chemical analyses. Simultaneous field/growth chamber experiments using isotopes to track the fate of carbon are also envisaged.

Work will be performed within the framework of a Horizon Europe project (2022 – 2027) comprising 23 European partners and 6 Chinese partners, coordinated by Alexia Stokes. The project ‘eco2adapt – Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Changemaking to Shape, Protect and Maintain the Resilience of Tomorrow’s Forests’ will focus on the vulnerability and resilience of EU and Chinese forests to a changing climate.

The PhD student will be co-supervised by Dr Alexia Stokes (INRAE Montpellier) and Dr Henrik Hartmann (Max Planck Institute, Jena, Germany). The PhD student will spend several months a year in each institute. Strong collaborations will also take place with the University of Belgrade (Serbia).

The candidate must contact Alexia Stokes before applying online

(alexia.stokes@cirad.fr)

What is funded: PhD scholarship

Duration: 36 months

Eligibility: The PhD candidate must speak English very well – speaking French/German will be a bonus. Fieldwork and secondments will be extensive, therefore the candidate must be highly mobile. A Master degree in plant/forest sciences is desired, and preferably with some experience in molecular methods