Ruth Yanai is seeking new graduate students (MS or PhD) to participate in a
large collaborative project investigating above and belowground carbon
allocation, nutrient cycling, and tradeoffs involved in multiple resource
allocation. The Multiple Element Limitation in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems
(MELNHE) project has field sites located at Hubbard Brook, Jeffers Brook,
and Bartlett Experimental Forests in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Since 2011, thirteen stands have been receiving N, P, N&P, and control
treatments in 0.25-ha plots, with six stands receiving Ca treatments.
Research in the MELNHE project includes soil respiration, soil
mineralization, beech bark disease, leaf production by species, foliar
nutrient resorption, water use, mycorrhizae, forest productivity (among
species and stand age classes), and snail and arthropod diversity. More
information on the project can be found at http://www.esf.edu/melnhe.
We welcome inquiries from prospective students interested in forest ecology,
nutrient cycling, and uncertainty analysis. Applicants should be self-
motivated, excited to work as part of a multi-investigator project, have
laboratory and field experience, and be comfortable living and working in a
group setting. A field crew blog from previous years is available at
http://shoestringproject.wordpress.com/.
Ideally, students will be able to start in July 2016, to become familiar
with the field sites and our research activities before starting classes in
late August. Come help take sap flow measurements!
Funding will consist of a combination of research and teaching
assistantships. A stipend, full tuition waiver, health insurance, and a
summer position with the field crew in New Hampshire will be provided.
Prospective students may apply to the Department of Forest and Natural
Resources Management or the Graduate Program in Environmental Science, both
at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.
We appreciate communicating with students as part of the application
process. Students are encouraged to review MELNHE related data and
publications and supply their own ideas for research in relation to the
project. Prospective students should begin that conversation by requesting
the password for Ruth's project materials from Mary Hagemann at
[email protected]
Thank you,
Mary Hagemann/Research Support Specialist
