Main subject area: Plant-soil interactions, soil science, plant genotypes, and sustainable agriculture
Domesticated crops yield more with high inputs of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. Yet, this practice is not efficient: a large fraction of the applied N is lost from the agroecosystem in the form of the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide and as N-leaching. A new generation of crops with roots adapted to reduced fertilizer inputs is necessary to develop a more sustainable agriculture. Using barley as model system, this project will identify root traits that increase plant N uptake and reduce N losses in a context of low fertilizer inputs. We will use domesticated, wild, and mutant varieties of barley in a greenhouse experiment to maximize within-species root trait variation. This will allow us to establish a mechanistic understanding of the links between plant traits, soil microbial communities and N dynamics. The results of this project will point the way towards a climate-smart (re)domestication of current plant genotypes.
April/May
Department of Agroecology, AU Viborg, 8830 Tjele
45 ECTS: Experimental theses in which the student is responsible for collection and analysis of his/her own original data.
60 ECTS: Experimental theses in which the student is responsible for planning, trial design and collection and analysis of his/her own original data.
The master project will be connected to the Sapere Aude project titled ‘Redefining a plant ideotype to reduce nitrogen pollution’, with co-supervision from PhD candidate Marvin Daniel Eguizabal Garcia.
Abalos, D., Groenigen, J. W., Philippot, L., Lubbers, I. M., & De Deyn, G. B. (2019). Plant trait-based approaches to improve nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56(11), 2454–2466. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13489
Bardgett, R. D., Mommer, L., & De Vries, F. T. (2014). Going underground: root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes. Trends in ecology & evolution, 29(12), 692–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2014.10.006
