PhD fellowship in Environmental and Soil Sciences:

PhD project: Modelling Impacts of Agricultural Soil Management and Mineral and Organic Fertilisation on Pools and Fluxes of Water, Carbon, Nitrogen and Greenhouse Gases

The Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, invites applicants for a PhD fellowship within Environmental and Soil Sciences.

The overall aim of the PhD project is to improve our knowledge of how different agricultural soil management and fertilisation (mineral as well as organic) strategies impact soil water, carbon and nitrogen, as well as emissions of GHG to the atmosphere and N leaching to the aquatic environment.

The PhD builds on activities in two research projects: a) KlimaGødning (Modeling the climate impact of fertiliser use in Danish agriculture) and b) PHISHES (PHysically-based Integrated Soil HEalth Simulation Platform), see further details below.

Both projects build on the agroecosystem model Daisy (https://daisy.ku.dk/) and entails developing and expanding current Daisy submodels to include more advanced approaches to simulation of organic residue retention, crop performance and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) turnover and emissions.

Starting date for the PhD candidate is expected to be 1 March 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The PhD project

The PhD candidate will work approximately one third of the time on the Klimagødning and two thirds of the time on the PHISHES projects.

The project KlimaGødning aims to to develop an improved N modeling approch that can calculate reliable estimates of N2O emissions at the field level from soil biogeophysical conditions and farm activity data, especially related to mineral and organic N fertilisation. The project is funded by the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and lead by University of Copenhagen with partners from Aarhus University and SEGES Innovation.

The project PHISHES aims to quantitatively assess, through state-of-the-art modelling, how different agricultural management strategies impacts soil pollution, soil processes and functions, ecosystem services and surface water quality at catchment scale. Agricultural management systems studied includes conventional tillage (CT) and conservation agriculture (CA) practices. The project is funded by the EU Horizon Europe Soil Mission program and lead by Danish Hydraulic Institute, with University of Copenhagen and a range of European organisations as partners.

The specific objectives of the PhD project will be along these directions:

1. Creating Daisy simulations of soil-plant-atmosphere processes (water, carbon and nitrogen balances and fluxes), for farm management and soil type combinations. Focus will be on improving the modelling of vertical distribution of C, N and water in soil for farm management strategies, such as CT and CA, in particular how a mulch layer (crop residues and cover crops) affect evaporation, hydraulic properties and percolation and thus soil moisture dynamics.
2. Contributing to developing, calibrating and testing a Daisy submodel for production and emission of N2O, a strong the greenhouse gas (GHG), from agricultural soils. Focus will be on how mineral and organic fertiliser application, microbial activity and oxygen consumption, water status and C and N turnover processes (as found in 1.) interact in space (hot spots) and time (hot moments), creating conditions favourable for N2O emission.
3. Based on the above, use and develop Daisy as a tool to examine (e.g. for different soil management systems or with future climate scenarios) how the difference in vertical distribution of water, N, and C affect the soil’s function, both as a filter for nitrogen leaching and selected other compounds, and as a source and sink of GHGs, i.e. soil organic C change (net CO2) and N2O.

The PhD work will generally involve utilising existing datasets or collating existing data from partners and other stakeholder in order to develop, calibrate and test the sub-model(s); therefore, a good understanding of modelling and calibration principples is necesary. However, it may potentially also include experimental work, in the lab or field, if data are needed to parameterise key controlling factors in the Daisy model, so experience with this will be an advantage.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for PhD candidates with professional as well as personal skills and qualifications as stated below:

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project, including a MSc degree in environmental science, agronomy, soil science, physical geography or a related discipline.
• Solid knowledge about soil biogeochemistry and soil physics, in the context of agricultural systems.
• Good experience with modelling of environmental processes in agricultural systems. Experience with the Daisy model will be an advantage.
• Good computer skills, experience with data management and analysis, including advanced data processing, statistical tools and methods.
• Experience with conducting experimental environmental research and with physical and chemical analyses of soil will be an advantage.
• Relevant work experience or other professional activities will be an advantage
• Excellent English language skills (written as well as oral)
• Good communicative and interpersonal skills.

Our group and research - what do we offer?

The Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainable Soil Management research group aims at developing better ways to manage soils, crops and fertiliser inputs in agriculture that result in reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, while maintaining productivity and avoiding any detrimental environmental effects such as nutrient leaching. (https://plen.ku.dk/english/research/plant_soil/climate-change-mitigation-and-sustainable-soil-management/)

The Environmental Chemistry research group works on the molecular insight in the fate of a wide range chemicals and natural compounds, to provide data to safeguard the use and management of these. Research focus is also on developing methods to clean up polluted soils and waters, i.e. filters or reactive nanomaterials introduced to polluted soils, extracting or binding toxic compounds. Finally, modelling the turnover and fate of these compounds in the agroecosystem is a research topic. (https://plen.ku.dk/english/research/env_chem_phys/ec/)

Both groups are part of Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences (PLEN), Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen (https://plen.ku.dk/english/). We are located in Copenhagen, with main campus in Frederiksberg and field trial facilities at our experimental farm in Taastrup, 20 km from the main campus. Our research facilities include modern laboratories, growth chambers, greenhouses and experimental fields. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.

The PhD candidate will also collaborate with other national and international researchers from other partners in the the two projects.

Principal PhD supervisor will be Associate Professor, Bjarne W. Strobel, Environmental Chemistry research group, [email protected], phone +45 3533 3481. Co-supervisor will be Professor Lars Stoumann Jensen, Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainable Soil Management research group, [email protected], mobile: +45 2122 2039. Additional co-supervisors from the department may be associated according to project needs.

The PhD programme

The PhD positions available is a three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme).

To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. agronomy, biology, geography or environmental sciences. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The terms of employment and salary are in accordance to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks in the PhD programme

• Carry out an independent research project under supervision and in collaboration with other partners in the project

• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
• Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
• Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
• Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
• Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications (see also specific qualifications above):

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other relevant professional activities
• Curious mind-set with a strong interest in the subjects related to the position
• Good language skills

Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

1. Cover letter of application (max. one page), and your motivation for applying for this PhD project, (max one page).
2. Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
3. Original diplomas for Bachelor of Science or Master of Science and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
4. Publication list (if relevant)
5. Reference letters (if available)

Application deadline:

The deadline for applications is 20 December 2024, 23:59 GMT +1.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held end of Jan/beginning of Feb.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal or co-supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.