Main subject area: Greenhouse gas emissions; intermediate wheatgrass; deep roots
Intermediate wheatgrass (IWG; Thynopyrum intermedium) is an emerging perennial wild type that yields grain for human consumption over the years. This deep-rooting crop is known to provide a wide range of agroecosystem services such as soil erosion, reduced fertilizer input, and nitrate leaching under Danish conditions. However, there has been no report on IWG’s greenhouse gas emissions under Danish conditions yet. This master project aims to quantify nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from IWG as compared to annual winter wheat.
2024
Blichers Alle 20, Tjele, 8830-DK
30 ECTS: Theoretical thesis based on literature studies and/or analysis of issued and edited data sets.
45 ECTS: Experimental theses in which the student is responsible for collection and analysis of his/her own original data.
This master project should generate the first datasets of greenhouse gas emissions in perennial wheat. Supervision will be conducted by Christian Dold and Eusun Han concerning greenhouse gas measurements and IWG production, respectively. The student will also work together with different researchers and technical staff. Greenhouse gas emissions will be measured with a novel laser-based analyzer.
Crews, T. E., Carton, W., & Olsson, L. (2018). Is the future of agriculture perennial? Imperatives and opportunities to reinvent agriculture by shifting from annual monocultures to perennial polycultures. Global Sustainability, 1. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2018.11
Tang, F. H. M., Crews, T. E., Brunsell, N. A., & Vico, G. (2024). Perennial intermediate wheatgrass accumulates more soil organic carbon than annual winter wheat – a model assessment. Plant and Soil, 494(1), 509–528. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06298-8
Parkin, Timothy B., and Rodney T. Venterea. "USDA-ARS GRACEnet project protocols, chapter 3. Chamber-based trace gas flux measurements." Sampling protocols. Beltsville, MD p (2010): 1-39.
