Post-doctoral Fellows in First Nations Agricultural

**Post-Doctoral Fellows in First Nations Agricultural Land Use and Management**:
**Project Overview**:
We are seeking two PDFs to work collaboratively on a large multistakeholder project called Bridge to Land Water Sky (BTLWS) Living Lab located in the prairie-parkland agricultural region of Saskatchewan. The Bridge to Land Water Sky Living Lab project is led by Mistawasis Nehiyawak in partnership with Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, USask, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and other Indigenous, agricultural, and environmental non-government organizations. The BTLWS Living Lab is focused on improving the health and climate resiliency of First Nations agroecosystems and is unique in Canada as it will work with Indigenous and non-Indigenous producers who farm on First Nations reserve lands.

The overall goal of the PDFs’ research is to assess agricultural land use and change and agricultural intensification on First Nations. The research will provide foundational data to help guide where testing and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) might take place for the Living Lab (**PDF1; natural science**) and help to understand the barriers and facilitators of BMP adoption by producers who farm on First Nations land (**PDF2; social science**).

**Nature of Work**:
The PDFs will be mentored by an interdisciplinary academic team consisting of Drs. Melissa Arcand (Soil Science), Christy Morrissey (Biology), and David Natcher (Agriculture and Resource Economics) and will be located in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. This is a highly collaborative environment that will include a research project manager, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as First Nations project leads and non-profit partners. The natural science PDF1’s research will primarily consist of desktop work with opportunities to participate in field sampling campaigns and community-based activities. The social science PDF2’s research will involve conducting interviews and focus groups with producers, First Nations land managers, and others in the agricultural and Indigenous land management sectors and will require field work.

The positions may be eligible for hybrid/remote work under the terms of USask’s Alternative Workspace Guidelines.

**Typical Duties or Accountabilities**:

- ** **Collect, analyze, summarize, and interpret data for peer-reviewed publication and to inform other activities of the BTLWS Living Lab
- Work collaboratively with the BTLWS research team - attendance in regular BTLWS team meetings and with the academic mentorship team is required
- Present research results at academic conferences and to agriculture and First Nations land management conferences and workshops
- Assisting in supervising and training of graduate and undergraduate students
- Specific to each position:_

**PDF1**:Mapping distribution and change of agricultural land use and assess the biogeophysical and ecological characteristics of First Nations agroecosystems
- Using existing datasets including remote sensing data (AAFC Annual Crop Inventory; Detailed Soil Survey; Landsat; Sentinel-2, etc.), PDF1 will develop an area-based agricultural land cover inventory and map land cover change on First Nations in the prairie parkland region of Saskatchewan. This research will also identify the degree of landscape and habitat complexity and inform evaluations of potential carbon sequestration, biodiversity enhancements, and agrochemical use reduction in marginal areas.
- Biogeophysical and ecological data including soil and vegetation data collected in collaboration with the BTLWS field research team can be used to inform additional research questions of interest to the applicant.

**PDF2**:Assessing the socio-economic dimensions of agricultural intensification on First Nations reserve land

Through close collaboration with the BTLWS Agronomist, PDF2 will employ social science methods, including social network analysis, qualitative, quantitative, and participatory research methods to understanding the management and decision-making environment of agricultural production on First Nations reserves. PDF2 will collect data on current use of agronomic practices such as agrochemical use, crop rotation, tillage, crop type and area, and the social, economic, and political drivers that influence those uses. PDF2 will also work closely with PDF1 in a desktop biophysical land survey.

**Experience**:

- ** **PDF1 will have experience in analysing and visualizing geospatial datasets (including remotely sensed data), and the use of geographic information systems software
- PDF2 will have experience conducting social science surveys and focus groups and analyzing socioeconomic data
- Demonstrated track record for publishing peer-reviewed research
- Knowledge of prairie agricultural systems is preferred
- For PDF1, knowledge and experience in biogeochemical modelling or predictive soil mapping is an asset
- Knowl