JOB- Research Project, ZEF/UNESCO Khorezm Project
Posted by: Gerd Rücker <Gerd.Ruecker@dlr.de>
Vacancy: PhD student
The department of Ecology and Resource Management (ZEF c) of the
Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany together
with the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) of the German
Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany invites applications for the following
position of a PhD Student for the third phase of the ZEF/UNESCO
research project "Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and
Water Use in the Region Khorezm (Uzbekistan)".
The ZEF/UNESCO Khorezm project is an interdisciplinary pilot project
in development research. The main objectives are 1) to develop
concepts for an effective and ecologically sustainable use of land and
water for intensively used agricultural regions in the Aral Sea basin;
2) to establish scientific collaboration based on a close partnership
between Germany and Uzbekistan in the field of development research.
For this project the position of a PhD student is vacant to perform
research on 'Seasonal crop growth assessment and yield prediction at
regional scale'. The study will involve establishing algorithms for
upscaling and regionalizing crop growth and yield information.
Therefore plant and soil data and information on crop and water
management will be acquired in the field and in parallel derived from
multi- and hyperspectral time-series of satellite sensors. The
regional crop yield model will be used for evaluating cropping system
performance and developing options on land use and land management
restructuring based on an existing optimization model. The research is
embedded in DFD´s land surface modeling group.
Tasks:
- Setting up and management of fertilizer trials on the main crops
cotton, winter-wheat and rice
- Monitoring and mapping plant and soil parameters on field and regional scale
- Interviewing farmers and farmer groups on crop and water management
- Validating crop growth and yield information derived from satellite images
- Simulating crop growth and yield at regional scale by combining the
crop-soil simulation model CropSyst with a land surface model based
on satellite and GIS data
- Evaluating cropping systems performance and developing optimized
land use / management options
Requirements:
- MSc in agronomy, biology, geography, soil science, or equivalent
- Experience with field work in rural areas preferably of crop / soil
management
- Experience with setting up and management of field trials and field
measurements
- Excellent data management and computer skills
- Sound knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Fluency in English
- Willingness to stay at least one year in Uzbekistan for conducting
field work
Desired requirements:
- Basic knowledge in remote sensing, crop-soil simulation models and
programming
- Ability to work both independently and in an interdisciplinary team
- Relevant background in Central Asian agriculture
- Ability to communicate in Russian or Uzbek.
Start:
October 2007 for 3.5 years
The PhD student will be partly based at the project institute in
Uzbekistan, at ZEF in Bonn and also at DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen,
Germany. The student will work under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Paul
Vlek (Professor at the University of Bonn and Director of ZEF c). The
position is full time (39h/week). In case of equal suitability female
candidates will be preferred. Interested candidates should submit a
letter of interest, CV and relevant documents by July 15, 2007 to Dr. Rücker:
Dr. Gerd Rücker
German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD)
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
82234 Wessling, Germany
Phone: +498153281522, Fax: +498153281522
email: gerd.ruecker@dlr.de
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