AmazonFACE

The AmazonFACE programme addresses the overarching question: “How will climate change affect the Amazon forest, the biodiversity it harbours, and the ecosystem services it provides to humanity?” The central feature of the programme is a field experiment of unprecedented scope that will expose an old-growth Amazon forest to the CO2 concentration of the future in a research station near Manaus, Brazil using Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) technology. The program is coordinated by the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), co-coordinated by the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and developed by a network of Brazilian and international researchers based in the UK, EU and USA.

Homepage: https://amazonface.unicamp.br/

We are seeking a dynamic and highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with expertise in plant ecophysiology to conduct cutting-edge, innovative research on Functional Ecology, Ecosystem Processes, and Water Cycle in the Amazon forest.

The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in advancing the understanding of primary productivity responses to elevated CO2 (eCO2). The appointee will drive the investigation of key aspects in plant ecophysiology that will potentially explain the mechanisms involved in decreased
stomatal conductance and its implications to site level water balance, with the aim to advance our understanding of ecosystem’s responses to global changes. Furthermore, you will work with a broad range of plant functional traits to explore the diversity of plant strategies present in tropical forests.

Main duties:
- Plan, coordinate and conduct field sampling campaigns and associated sample analyses in the laboratory. This includes making ecophysiological measurements in the field, such as stomatal conductance, carbon assimilation and transpiration rates, photosynthetic response curves to VPD, evaluate functional diversity indices;
- Develop and advance original scientific research in functional ecology;
- Interact and cooperate with different research areas and AmazonFACE program members;
- Participate in project meetings and present results in seminars, workshops and conferences;
- Present an “Activity Plan” within 2 months from the start of the fellowship;
- Write reports and manuscripts for publication in high-quality journals;
- Collaborate with, mentor and/or co-supervise Master’s and Doctoral students working on topics related to the program;
- Contribute to maintaining a positive work environment.

Requirements:
- A doctoral degree in biology, forestry, ecology, environmental sciences or a related field;
- Practical experience in planning and coordination of field sampling, data collection, laboratory analyses and data processing including statistics;
- Sound understanding of and strong interest in concepts in plant ecophysiology and ecosystem ecology;
- Ability to work in interdisciplinary teams;
- A demonstrated track-record of publishing in international peer-reviewed journals;
- Willingness to synthesize data into high-quality scientific publications;
- Establish residency in the city of Manaus;
- Fluency in Portuguese and English is desirable

What we offer:
- Unique large-scale experimental infrastructure at the field site;
- Become part of a diverse and multidisciplinary team of international researchers with the common goal to integrate tropical forest processes (above and belowground), advance modelling efforts and impacts on socio-economic dynamics to gain a holistic understanding of effects of
eCO2 on the Amazon forest;
- Opportunity to mentor and co-supervise scientific initiation and graduate students;
- A supportive environment for scientific innovation and career advancement.
- A 12-month FAPESP fellowship, with another 12-months extension available depending on performance, and with the possibility of additional 6-12 months abroad for developing research on project-related topics.

The postdoctoral researcher will work under the direct supervision of Prof. Tomas F. Domingues (FFCLRP-USP, Brazil)

Send your full CV, 3 reference contacts and a motivation letter to tomas@ffclrp.usp.br
Deadline: July 07th, 2025.