Dr. 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 received full-factorial N x P treatments annually in 0.25-ha plots, with seven stands treated with Ca. Research in the MELNHE project has included tree diameter growth, leaf production by species, foliar nutrient resorption, soil respiration, soil nutrient pools, litter decomposition, beech bark disease, mycorrhizae, and snail and arthropod diversity. Prospective students could follow up on those topic areas or supply ideas for research in new areas in the context of the MELNHE project. More information on the project can be found at http://www.esf.edu/melnhe.
We welcome inquiries from prospective students interested in forest ecology and nutrient cycling. An interest in uncertainty in country-level carbon accounting would be a plus https://www.esf.edu/for/yanai/research_opps.htm. 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 https://shoestringproject.wordpress.com/.
Ideally, new students join us at the start of the summer field season at the beginning of June, so as to become familiar with the field sites and our research activities before starting classes in late August.
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 Sustainable 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 data to begin thinking about how they might contribute to the project. Prospective students should begin that conversation by requesting the password for Ruth's project materials from Mary Hagemann at forestecology@esf.edu .