Post-doc Position at INRA Orléans

Post-doc Position at INRA Orléans, FranceUnit of Soil Science (2 years)

Applications are invited for a two-year post-doctoral research fellowship starting January 2009 at INRA Orleans in the of Soil Science research unit to work on the project given below.



Project Details
Title: Analysis of the spatial variability of N2O emissions at the landform scale
Description: Information on emissions of N2O at the landform scale is needed to evaluate the contribution of agricultural landscape to the global nitrogen cycle. Scaling-up these emissions is difficult because of their high temporal and spatial variability. The post-doctoral fellow will study, on a territory of about 10 km², the relationships between spatial variability of soil conditions and that of N2O emissions.

The objective is to evaluate our capacity to analyse soil conditions, combining measurements and modelling, in order to predict N2O fluxes and to determine the minimum dataset for such predictions. N2O fluxes will be measured near Orleans on a small catchment with contrasted soil types and agricultural practices. Classical closed chambers and a new mobile spectrometer will be used to assess the variability of N2O fluxes.
The post-doc fellow will join a team that is responsible for the characterization of all of the soil conditions. Several collaborating scientists will work with the Orleans INRA team on this project: Pierre Cellier (EGC Grignon) and Valery Catoire (LPCE Orléans) in France, Philippe Rochette (Agriculture Canada, Québec) and Daniel Pennock (University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon) in Canada.
The monthly salary will be 2150 Euro before deductions.

Contact Details
For all information relating to the position,
please contact Dr. Guy RICHARD.
Tel: + 33 2 38 41 78 41
Email: Guy.Richard@orleans.inra.fr