Postdoctoral Fellow - Human Dimensions Of Invasive Grasses

Millions of hectares of rangeland in the western United States are currently degraded, or under threat of degradation, from the proliferation of invasive grasses. These invasive species cause substantial and self-perpetuating changes to nutrient cycling, fire frequencies, and vulnerability to post-fire erosion.

Large and fast-moving wildfires fed by invasive-grass fuels endanger human lives, property, and critical natural and cultural resources. Recent national assessment of science needs in this region have identified the following priorities: new vegetation treatment and monitoring techniques for invasive annual grass control; spatial risk analysis for fire and invasive species effects; efficient restoration methods that account for site-specific conditions; characterization of ecosystem resistance and resilience thresholds for sagebrush-steppe plant communities; more accurate and predictive meteorological data and models and a better understanding of climate controls on seeding success; and improved understanding of the human, social, and economic tradeoffs involved. The Postdoctoral Research Scholar (Social Scientist) will explore the factors that affect the spread of invasive grasses in the Great Basin region with specific emphasis on adaptive capacity strategies among landowners, producers, and stakeholder organizations.

The annual grass - wildfire problem continues to expand its socio-ecological impact within a context where human resources (time, energy, funding) to meet this challenge remain limited as well as in competition with other priorities. Community- and individual-level motivations, incentives, and behaviors to adapt to shifting policies related to invasion of annual grasses vary and can manifest in forms of increased stress, impacts to morale and cohesion, or perceived constraints on livelihood scenarios affecting operations and therefore management. These societal lags, constraints, and barriers compound the challenge of the annual grass - wildfire problem.

The Postdoctoral Research Scholar will work as a part of a collaborative team of scientists within a core site of the Long-term Agroecosystems Research (LTAR) Network, led by Rural Sociologist Dr. J.D. Wulfhorst in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, and sponsored by the USDA - Agricultural Research Service Northwest Watershed Research Center (Boise, ID). The University of Idaho position is a salaried 12-month position, renewable annually for 3 years with successful progress, and with possible extensions pending funding.