Research Scientist - Postdoc (f/m/d) / research group: Lowland Hydrology & Water Management

The mission of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) as a nationally and internationally active research institute is to deliver solutions for an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable agriculture – together with society.

ZALF is a member of the Leibniz Association and is located in Müncheberg (approx. 35 minutes by regional train from Berlin-Lichtenberg). It also maintains a research station with further locations in Dedelow and Paulinenaue.

The working group “Lowland Hydrology and Water Management” focuses on cause-and-effect analysis and balancing of surface and subsurface water and solute fluxes in Pleistocene landscapes, taking into account their particular hydrological characteristics. The core of our research is the further development of a model-based system understanding of hydrological systems in Pleistocene agricultural landscapes and the assessment of the impact of management measures on the local and regional water balance.

The research project

‘WetNetBB investigates the possibilities of a wet grassland use on drained peatlands (paludiculture) in Brandenburg by developing of innovations and establishing new value chains. As part of the federal program 'Natural Climate Protection',

the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture is funding WetNetBB for a period of 9 years in total. The first project phase started on 1st September 2023 and ends after 3 years. WetNetBB is part of the national network PaludiZentrale that follows similar goals in other regions in Germany. Our research group “Lowland Hydrology and Water Management” is hosting the hydrological topics as part of the module 4 'Accompanying Research' on two sites in Brandenburg.

We are offering a full-time position (Postdoc) starting on 01.10.2024 and initially limited to 31.08.2026 at our location in Müncheberg as

Research Scientist (Postdoc) (f/m/d)

58-2024

Your tasks:

• investigations of the surface water balance (evapotranspiration, inflow/outflow, water level, soil water content) of paludiculture intensive monitoring plots
• preparation, implementation and evaluation of hydrological monitoring for water quantity and solute fluxes
• evaluation of eddy covariance measurements for evapotranspiration
• determination of water balances and substance balances of the most important water-bound substances
• water balance modeling for the intensive monitoring areas
• determination of characteristic values for the water and substance balance of paludiculture areas for transfer to other areas
• independent preparation of project reports
• presentation of project results at national and international conferences and in scientific publications

Your qualifications:

• Master's degree or diploma with professional experience in hydrology, (hydro-)meteorology, hydrogeology, geoecology, geography or related disciplines, existing PhD desired
• profound knowledge in the field of experimental hydrology (water balance, groundwater hydraulics) and hydrological modelling
• basic knowledge of geochemistry
• experience in the field of peatland hydrology
• experience in scientific publishing
• as an internationally research institution, located in Germany we require good to very good written and spoken English skills and the willingness to take part in further training as part of the language courses in German offered internally
• driving license class B and driving experience

What we offer:

• an interdisciplinary working environment that encourages independence and self-reliance
• classification according to the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L) up to E13 (including special annual payment)
• a collegial and open-minded working atmosphere in a dynamic research institution
• numerous internal and external training course options
• support for the reconciliation of work and family life
• company ticket
• in-house language courses in German and English

Women are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications from severely disabled persons with equal qualifications are favored. The filling of the position in part-time is possible in principle. Please send your application preferably online (see button online application below). For e-mail applications, create a PDF document (one PDF file, max. 5 MB; packed PDF documents, archive files like zip, rar etc. Word documents cannot be processed and therefore cannot be considered!) with the usual documents, in particular CV, proof of qualification and certificates, stating the

• reference number 58-2024
• until August 15th, 2024

to (see button e-mail application below).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:  

• Dr. Ottfried Dietrich, Tel. 033432/82-305, Email: dietrich@zalf.de or
• Prof. Dr. Christoph Merz, Tel. 033432/82-302, Email: cmerz@zalf.de.

For cost reasons, application documents or extensive publications can only be returned if an adequately stamped envelope is attached. If you apply, we collect and process your personal data in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the EU GDPR only for the processing of your application and for purposes that result from possible future employment with the ZALF. Your data will be deleted after six months.

• Contact of Human resource management: personal@zalf.de