Masters thesis or Internship opportunity: Survey
of alpine plants near climate stations in Switzerland
The Mountain Ecosystems and Climate Research
teams at the Institute for Forest, Snow and
Landscape Research WSL in Switzerland are looking
for Masters students and paid summer field
assistants in the project: Warmer temperatures,
less snow, earlier plant development? Using a
long-term meteorological network to unravel
temperature and snow effects on mountain
vegetation. A field crew will visit up to 70
climate stations at high elevation (1500-3000 m
asl) all over the Swiss Alps in partly remote
alpine areas to record the vegetation at the
stations. The field crew would consist of a
postdoc, 1 or 2 Masters students and 1 or 2
field assistants. The position should start in
June 2015. The end of the season would probably
be at the end of September. The person would
ideally be based in Davos but can also be based somewhere else in Switzerland.
Requirements are
· Good knowledge of vascular plant species
identification and the motivation to rapidly
learn approx. 350 alpine plant species
· Masters/Bachelor/basic studies in Biology, Ecology, or a similar field
· Physical fitness and robustness (access
mainly on foot and may span 1000 vertical meters)
· Experience, ability and confidence to move in trackless alpine terrain
· Motivation and patience for long working
days outdoors under sometimes harsh conditions
(sometimes multiple days in a row)
· Team spirit
· Driving licence and language skills are an advantage
Payment will depend on academic degree and
position in this project. Expenses for food and
lodging during field work will be covered.
For more information, contact Christian Rixen
(<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected], phone +41 (0)81 417 02 14).
Christian Rixen, Yann Vitasse and Martine Rebetez
Dr. Christian Rixen
Community Ecology
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Flüelastrasse 11
CH- 7260 Davos
tel ++41 81 417 02 14
fax ++41 81 417 01 10
e-mail: [email protected]
<http://www.wsl.ch/personal_homepages/rixen/>http://www.wsl.ch/personal_homepages/rixen/
http://www.slf.ch
Master's student opportunities:
<http://www.wsl.ch/personal_homepages/rixen/Masterthesis_EN>http://www.wsl.ch/personal_homepages/rixen/Masterthesis_EN
