Post Doctoral Researcher, Biology

Maynooth University; Maynooth; On-site; EUR 43,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Maynooth University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Research Ireland funded “Future Forests” project in the Biology Department. The role focuses on field-based experiments assessing the performance of tree seedling monocultures and mixtures under elevated CO2 and climate change.

The successful candidate will collaborate with colleagues at University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, the Smithsonian Institution and Kyoto University, contributing to data

Job description

Department: Biology

Vacancy ID: 044183

Closing Date: 14-Oct-2026

Maynooth University is committed to a strategy in which the primary University goals of excellent research and scholarship and outstanding education are interlinked and equally valued.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Research Ireland funded “Future Forests” project.

The Project

Increasing tree diversity in planted forests can enhance ecosystem services such as wood production and carbon sequestration. Ambitious afforestation plans form a major part of Irelands climate mitigation strategy. Diversification of Irish forests is also a key component of national forest policy. However, we know little about how mixed forests will function under future climates. In a novel field-based open-top chamber experiment, the Future Forests project is assessing the performance of tree seedling monocultures and mixtures under elevated CO2. This experiment provides a platform for testing mechanisms controlling responses of sapling monocultures and mixtures to climate change e.g., altered phenology, physiological limitations to establishment/productivity. In addition, the project is using long-term forest inventory data from European temperate forests to assess the relationship between tree diversity, growth, and mortality of trees under global change.

The Role

Increasing tree diversity in planted forests can enhance ecosystem services such as wood production and carbon sequestration. Ambitious afforestation plans form a major part of Irelands climate mitigation strategy. Diversification of Irish forests is also a key component of national forest policy. However, we know little about how mixed forests will function under future climates. In a novel field-based open-top chamber experiment, the Future Forests project is assessing the performance of tree seedling monocultures and mixtures under elevated CO2. This experiment provides a platform for testing mechanisms controlling responses of sapling monocultures and mixtures to climate change e.g., altered phenology, physiological limitations to establishment/productivity. In addition, the project is using long-term forest inventory data from European forests to assess the relationship between diversity, growth, and mortality of trees under the environmental change (elevated CO2, temperature, drought) of the last 40 years. The researcher will contribute to the wider project and work with collaborators at University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, the Smithsonian Institution, and Kyoto University.

Salary

Post-Doctoral Researcher (Level 1): €47, 273 – €53,925 p.a. (1-6 points)

Appointments will be made in accordance with public sector pay provisions.

Closing Date

23:30hrs (local Irish time) on Wednesday, 14th of October.

Maynooth University is an equal opportunities employer

The position is subject to the Statutes of the University