PhD in AI, Remote Sensing and Mountain Ecology for Forest Treeline Management in the Swiss Alps École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland

PhD opportunity in AI, remote sensing, ecology, and mountain environmental science focused on the dynamics of the upper forest line (treeline) in the Swiss Alps.

The project studies how climate change and land-use change affect forest treeline dynamics, with a strong applied component for forest management in alpine regions.

The selected candidate will develop AI models to map treeline evolution from high-resolution remote sensing data, build predictive ecological models to project future trends, and help create practical management tools co-constructed with forest professionals.

The thesis will be hosted at the ECEO (Environmental Computational Science and Earth Observation) laboratory of Professor Devis Tuia at EPFL Valais Wallis in Sion, with co-supervision from Christophe Randin from UNIL/IDYST.

This is a PhD position with a 100% full-time contract. The post does not mention a stipend amount or tuition details.

Start date: September 1, 2026. Applicants should consult the EPFL careers page for the full description and application instructions.