[ES_JOBS_NET] Postdoctoral position at University of Lorraine – INRA Nancy: Understanding and modelling climatic and edaphic controls of CO2 isofluxes in soil.

[Erika Marín-Spiotta]

 Postdoctoral position at University of Lorraine – INRA Nancy:

Understanding and modelling climatic and edaphic controls of CO2 isofluxes
in soil.

 Department: The position is based at UMR 1137 Ecologie et Ecophysiologie
Forestières (EEF) – Nancy

(France). This department undertakes fundamental and applied research on
forest, with strong expertise in

ecophysiology and ecology, and belongs to the Cluster of Excellence ”ARBRE”
at INRA and University of

Lorraine.

 Research team: Caroline Plain, Bernard Longdoz, Daniel Epron (scientific
advisor)


 Context: Forest ecosystem respiration is dominated by soil CO2 efflux
(Granier et al. 2000), which come from

different biological components (roots, microbes) mobilizing different
sources of carbon (recent photosynthate,

stored carbohydrates, root exudates, fresh and more or less stabilized
organic matter) localized at different depths

and thus under different environmental conditions (Epron 2009). Efflux is
also the results of physical processes

such as diffusion and advection depending on the vertical profile of soil CO
2, soil texture and water content. Our

understanding of these processes can be improved by measuring the carbon
isotope composition of soil CO2

efflux and soil CO2 concentration in different layers at high frequency by
laser spectrometry (Marron et al.,

2009, Plain et al. 2009, Parent et al. 2013). Indeed, their variations
reflect the temporal changes of photosynthetic

and post-photosynthetic fractionation as well as changes in source
contribution, and help to better characterize

the influence of climatic and edaphic conditions on (i) the vertical
distribution of respiratory source, (ii) the

intensity of CO2 production and (iii) its transport through the soil
profile up to the atmosphere. We have recently

collaborated to the development of a flux-gradient based model that
predicted the vertical distribution and the

diurnal variations of the production and isotope composition of soil
CO2 (Goffin
et al. 2014).


Published papers from the team related to the project

Epron, D. 2009. Chapter 8: Separating autotrophic and heterotrophic
components of soil respiration: lessons

learned from trenching and related root exclusion experiments. In Soil
Carbon Dynamics: an Integrated

Methodology Eds. W. Kutsch, M. Bahn and A. Heinemeyer. Cambridge University
Press, pp. 157-168.

Goffin, S., M. Aubinet, M. Maier, C. Plain, H. Schack-Kirchner and B.
Longdoz 2014. Characterization of the

soil CO2 production and its carbon isotope composition in forest soil
layers using the flux-gradient approach.

Agric. For. Meteorol. 188:45-57.

Granier, A., et al. 2000. The carbon balance of a young beech forest.
Funct. Ecol. 14:312-325.

Maier, M., H. Schack-Kirchner, M. Aubinet, S. Goffin, B. Longdoz, F.
Parent. 2012 Turbulence effect on gas

transport in three contrasting forest soils Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 76:
1518–1528

Marron, N., C. Plain, B. Longdoz and D. Epron 2009. Seasonal and daily time
course of the 13C composition in

soil CO2 efflux recorded with a tunable diode laser spectrophotometer
(TDLS). Plant Soil. 318:137-151.

Parent, F., C. Plain, D. Epron, M. Maier and B. Longdoz 2013. A new method
for continuously measuring the

*δ*13C of soil CO2 concentrations at different depths by laser
spectrometry. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 64:516–525.

Plain, C., D. Gérant, P. Maillard, M. Dannoura, Y. Dong, B. Zeller, P.
Priault, F. Parent and D. Epron 2009.

Tracing of recently assimilated carbon in respiration at high temporal
resolution in the field with a tuneable

diode laser absorption spectrometer after in situ 13CO2 pulse labelling of
20-year-old beech trees. Tree

Physiol. 29:1433-1447.


 Duties: We are seeking a young researcher who will be in charge of
understanding the interplay between

production and transport of 13CO2 and 12CO2 in the soil and to analyze
their temporal variability at different

scales using the flux-gradient based model using a large available data set
obtained in the Hesse experimental

forest (vertical profile and fluxes of soil and trunk CO2 and *d*13C-CO2,
sapflow, *d*13C of phloem sap and leaf and

root soluble C as well as all the data available at this eddy covariance
flux site).


 Qualifications: Qualified candidate should be highly motivated and have a
PhD degree in Biology or in Soil

science with good skills in physics and modelling. Knowledge in stable
isotope and forest/agricultural ecosystem

functioning would be an advantage but they may be acquired during the first
month. Oral and written English are

required.


 Duration: 12 months, starting Nov 2014 (no later than Dec 1st, 2014).


 How to apply? Applicants should submit a CV including a publication list
and a short description of previous

research, current research interests and other activities of relevance for
the position to Daniel Epron

(daniel.epron at univ-lorraine.fr). Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of
up to three references should be

given. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
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