The research will be undertaken within Griffith Environmental Biogeochemistry Research Laboratory (EBRL), an internationally recognised research group led by Professor Chengrong Chen, with specialties in biogeochemistry, soil microbiology, and global change ecology. The EBRL is situated within Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute (ARI), providing access to world-leading research facilities and an outstanding learning environment. ARI is a world-leader on rivers, coasts, and land-water connections, and can provide candidates opportunities for skills and career development, networking, and academic mentoring. We are looking for a PhD candidate to carry out important research into the role of plant–microbial interactions (i.e., ‘plant–soil feedbacks’) as drivers of ecosystem responses to changing patterns of fire frequency, severity, and extent in Australia. The primary focus of this role is to understand how plant–microbial interactions in native Australian vegetation are disrupted or otherwise altered by novel fire regimes, using glasshouse trials, metabolomics approaches, and/or food-web manipulation experiments. Candidates will be encouraged to develop their own research goals within this theme. This project includes fieldwork in south-east Queensland and possibly interstate. Candidates may have opportunities to collaborate with other at Griffith University, The University of Sydney, The University of Melbourne, and Université Lyon. The candidate will be supervised by Dr Orpheus Butler (ARC DECRA Fellow) and Professor Chengrong Chen. This opportunity will be primarily based at Brisbane South (Nathan). As Griffith is a multi-site University you may be required to work across other locations. Griffith University’s sites are located on the lands of the Yugarabul, Yuggera, Jagera, Turrbal, Yugambeh and Kombumerri peoples. | 
