PhD on Carbon Cycling in Primary Forests at Lund University

Job Description

Lund University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is recruiting a doctoral student on carbon cycling in primary forests. The group has mapped Sweden’s primary (old-growth) forests and found they store much more carbon than managed forests, especially in the soil. The project asks why: losses from drainage, site preparation and harvest in managed forests, or extra uptake since the 1950s from CO2 fertilisation, climate change and fewer wildfires.

At a glance

• Position: Doctoral student (1 post), full time
• Where: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (MGeo), Lund
• Apply by: 30 September 2026
• Apply: 30 September 2026

About the forest carbon PhD

• Collect and analyse soil samples from primary forests and forests harvested at different times
• Study effects of drainage, site preparation and historical fire regimes
• Integrate maps and historical sources into spatial analyses and statistical models
• Possibly analyse mineral-associated and particulate organic carbon fractions in the lab
• Or model existing carbon storage and forest management data, depending on your interests

According to the advert, the difference in carbon storage between primary and managed forests is larger than Sweden’s cumulative fossil CO2 emissions, which is why understanding its cause matters for the wider boreal zone and for future forest policy. Lab analyses may separate mineral-associated from particulate organic carbon to show which fractions were lost.

PhD applicants: browse our Find a supervisor directory to see who works in your area.

What Lund University is looking for

• General and specific eligibility for doctoral studies in the subject

Nice to have

• Fieldwork and soil sampling
• GIS, spatial statistics or modelling
• Soil carbon lab methods

Pay and location

Lund’s advert does not state the salary; doctoral studies are four years of full-time study.

How to apply

Apply through the official Lund University page. The closing date is 30 September 2026.

See all our PhD positions, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.