PhD Positions in Sustainable Forest Use, Biodiversity, and Environmental Science at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is offering 16 PhD positions through the WIFORCE – Wallenberg Initiatives in Forest Research, focusing on the sustainable use of forests and forest biodiversity. These positions are part of the WIFORCE Research School, which addresses key social and scientific challenges related to forestry, climate change, and ecosystem resilience. The research projects span a wide range of topics, including advanced monitoring tools, ecological studies, genetic approaches, remote sensing, bioacoustics, soil and microbial processes, and the development of new analytical tools for sustainable forestry.
PhD students will have the opportunity to work on projects such as deadwood translocation for forest soil biodiversity, nitrogen fixation in mycorrhiza and forest soils, linking forest genetics with operational harvesting data, methods for forest biodiversity inventory and measurement, bioacoustics and AI for biodiversity, remote sensing of boreal forest fires, drought tolerance and resilience, airborne eDNA for biodiversity tracking, soil food web functional capacity, ecology in wet forested environments, microbial respiration and carbon storage, peatland forest management, RNA biology of trees, nitrogen use efficiency, and climate adaptation modeling.
The WIFORCE Research School is based at SLU, with main campuses in Alnarp, Umeå, and Uppsala, Sweden. The program is designed to foster interdisciplinary research and provide doctoral students with the skills and knowledge needed to address complex environmental and ecological issues. Funding is provided through four-year full-time employment as a doctoral student, with a competitive salary and support for living expenses. The application deadline is 10 February 2026.
Applicants should have a master's degree or equivalent in a relevant field such as environmental science, biology, ecology, forestry, or related disciplines. Strong interest in sustainable forestry, biodiversity, and advanced research methods is required. Specific projects may require skills in genetics, remote sensing, bioacoustics, statistics, or AI. Proficiency in English is necessary. For more information and to apply, visit the WIFORCE Research School website at www.slu.se/en/wiforce. Contact Associate Professor Tim R. Hofmeester for questions about specific projects.
