Objective
The role of biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems and the provisioning of ecosystem services is a key issue in ecology. Both in natural ecosystems and in agriculture legumes are critical for enhancing ecosystem productivity because of their ability to fix aerial nitrogen (N). Many studies have tested how non-leguminous plants may benefit from legumes, however, a main and unresolved question is whether and how legumes can benefit from growing with non-leguminous species. This question is central in my proposed research. Models predict that increased N input from legumes will feed back to suppression of legumes by non-leguminous species that are better competitors for light, which suggests that legumes will perform best in monocultures. However, field observations indicate that productivity of legume monocultures is unstable and that legumes must have an advantage of growing in mixtures with non-leguminous species. It has been suggested that interactions with soil organisms are critical in explaining why legumes persist poorly, but whether non-leguminous species can modify soil properties to the benefit of legumes remains to be tested. The aim of my proposal is to unravel how leguminous grassland species may benefit from growing with non-leguminous species through interactions with abiotic (resources) and biotic (detrimental and beneficial) soil components and whether enhancement of legumes results in increased plant community productivity and nutrient retention. My three specific study objectives are: 1. How aboveground and belowground traits of leguminous species and non-leguminous species may promote complementary use of resources 2. How non-leguminous plants may suppress root herbivores of the legumes and 3. How non-leguminous plants may promote positive effects of root mutualistic symbionts. The main benefits of the program for my career are enhanced independency, experience in cutting-edge techniques and coaching in acquiring funding.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds legumes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.