Postdoc: Urban Tree Ecohydrology for City Cooling

WSL - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Birmensdorf (ZH); On-site; CHF 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

WSL - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research invites applications for a PostDoc in Urban Tree Ecophysiology and Ecohydrology. The position is based at WSL Lausanne, focusing on understanding urban green infrastructure performance for cooling and rainwater retention.

You will combine in-situ measurements with soil hydraulic characterization, continuous soil-moisture monitoring, and field observations to parameterise an urban ecohydrological model.

Qualifications

• PhD in plant physiology, urban ecology, ecohydrology or related field.
• Strong quantitative and scientific writing skills.
• Excellent written and spoken English; French and German a plus.
• Experience with data analysis and modelling in R or Python essential.
• Familiarity with field instrumentation and remote sensing advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in-situ measurements of tree water use and soil moisture.
• Parameterise urban ecohydrological models from field data.
• Scale up findings to citywide assessments using remote sensing.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and stakeholders across sites in Sion, Fribourg and Winterthur.

Skills

Data analysis

Scientific writing

Field research

Communication skills

Python

R

Education

PhD in plant physiology

Tools

sap flow sensors

soil-moisture sensors

remote sensing data

Job description

WSL - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research invites applications for a PostDoc in Urban Tree Ecophysiology and Ecohydrology. The position is based at WSL Lausanne, focusing on understanding urban green infrastructure performance for cooling and rainwater retention.

You will combine in-situ measurements with soil hydraulic characterization, continuous soil-moisture monitoring, and field observations to parameterise an urban ecohydrological model.