PhD position (m/f/d) Forest Management

07.04.2026, Wissenschaftliches Personal

The Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group at the TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich studies how forests 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. A quantitative understanding of ecosystem dynamics provides the foundation for the development of robust management concepts for the sustainable provisioning of diverse ecosystem services and for maintaining the integrity and diversity of ecosystems in a changing world.
We are looking to fill the position of a

PhD student (m/f/d) in the field of forest management, 65%, available from October 2026

Your profile

• Completed master studies in the field of forestry, ecosystem management, simulation modeling or related fields
• Interested in the diversity and resilience of forests
• Knowledge on forest ecosystem service provisioning
• Good quantitative skills, specific interest in simulation modelling
• Good communication skills
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team

Your tasks

You will conduct research on the effect of beta-diversity on forest resilience to disturbance. Specifically, you will investigate if and how increasing beta-diversity in forest landscapes can increase resilience to current and future forest disturbances and assess the implications for forest ecosystem service supply. The main methodological approach applied will be forest landscape simulation modelling using the model iLand. The work is embedded in the BETA-FOR project (https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/for5375/) and will collaborate closely with the Forest Economics and Sustainable Land-use Planning group at the University of Göttingen (Prof. Paul).

Specifically, tasks include:

• Compilation of data for running model simulations, model evaluation against independent data sources
• Development of different management strategies to increase beta diversity
• Assessment of the effects of beta diversity on disturbance resilience
• Quantification of climate change impacts, assessment of ecosystem service supply
• Prepare information for economic analyses
• Publication of peer-reviewed scientific papers in international journals
• Communication of research findings at scientific conferences and stakeholder meetings

Our offer

• Work in a highly dynamic and international research group at the forefront of the field
• Conduct a PhD within the frame of an innovative and interdisciplinary research project funded by the German Research Foundation DFG
• Interact with a wide network of peers, scientists and stakeholders both nationally and internationally
• 65% position (26h employment per week) in remuneration group TV-L E13, for a period of 3.5 years
• The place of employment is the TUM School of Life Science in Freising, Germany
• 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

Contact

Please send your application with relevant documents by May 5th 2026 to:

attn. Violeta Aramayo

We ask you to send your application as a single pdf file to the above mentioned email address and fill in the following application form . The submitted file should include a complete CV and a concise letter of motivation (no longer than two pages), addressing (1) why you are motivated to work on this topic and (2) what qualifies you to successfully conduct this work. The application form is required in addition to the pdf application file, and can be found here .
For questions about the position, please contact Prof. Rupert Seidl, rupert.seidl@tum.de.

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

Kontakt: bewerbung.edfm@ls.tum.de