Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d) Understanding the adaptive capacity of forests to natural disturbances in Europe

Freising

Technische Universität München

The Ecosystem Dynamics Group at the TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich studies how ecosystems change in time and space. We quantify these changes, identify their causes and describe their impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. To do this we use a combination of diverse methods, from empirical research to remote sensing and simulation modeling. Our research contributes to robust management concepts for the sustainable provisioning of diverse ecosystem services, and for maintaining the integrity and diversity of ecosystems in a changing world.

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d)

Understanding the adaptive capacity of forests to natural disturbances in Europe

About the position

We invite applications for a 2-year Postdoctoral Researcher position starting in January 2026, supervised by Dr. Judit Lecina-Diaz and Prof. Rupert Seidl. The successful candidate will join the EDFM group at the Technical University of Munich to advance our understanding of the adaptive capacity of European forests to natural disturbances. This position is embedded in the DFG-funded project TOADAPT, which investigates the social-ecological adaptive capacity of forests across multiple scales and disturbance regimes.

Your profile

• Completed PhD in forest ecology, environmental sciences, geography, or related fields with no more than four years of postdoctoral experience
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and publish in peer-reviewed journals
• Strong experience with R, statistical and spatial analysis
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Experience with field work in post-disturbance forest conditions (desired)
• Experience in ecological or social-ecological modeling (desired)

Your tasks

• Contribute to the assessment of forest adaptive capacity
• Conduct statistical and spatial analyses to assess adaptive capacity
• Collaborate with project partners across Europe and contribute to stakeholder engagement
• Publish research findings in high-impact journals and present at international conferences

We offer

• Integration into a vibrant and interdisciplinary research environment at TUM
• Access to unique datasets and collaboration with a well-established European network
• Opportunities for professional development and academic career advancement
• Full-time position according to remuneration group TV-L E13 (in line with the German public sector payment scheme)
• A collaborative, engaged and socially active lab environment with regular academic exchange
• Severely handicapped persons will be given preference in case of essentially equal qualification
• The TUM aims to increase the proportion of women in its staff; applications from women are therefore expressly welcomed

Application

Please send your application (CV, letter of motivation, and contact details for two references) as a single PDF by September 5, 2025 to: bewerbung.edfm@ls.tum.de.

For questions regarding the position, contact Dr. Judit Lecina-Diaz (judit.lecina@tum.de).

As part of your application for a position at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), you will be submitting personal data. Please refer to our data protection information in accordance with Art. 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO) https://portal.mytum.de/kompass/datenschutz/Bewerbung/ regarding the collection and processing of personal data as part of your application. By submitting your application, you confirm that you have taken note of TUM's data protection information.

Find out more about us at https://www.edfm.ls.tum.de/ and https://www.nationalpark-berchtesgaden.bayern.de/