Project description
Revealing how microorganisms regulate phosphorus in soil
Phosphorus is an important nutrient for plant growth, and the overuse of phosphate fertilisers leading to soil erosion poses a threat to future agriculture. That’s why understanding the microorganisms that recycle phosphorus within soil could lead to more sustainable and productive farming. To understand this, the EU-funded DYNA-MIC-P project is investigating how different soil characteristics and management techniques promote microbes’ cycling of phosphorus. By looking at similar soil sites with different ages, along with spectroscopic and isotropic analysis, the project will reveal how different techniques could restore or maintain phosphorus levels in soil.
Objective
Low P-availability in soils, soil degradation, over-application of P fertiliser and gradual depletion of P-resources are a threat for the sustainability of future agricultural production. Within soils, microorganisms play an active role in the cycling of P by: 1) storing P within their biomass, 2) mineralising non-plant available organic P, and 3) solubilising inorganic P forms . They are thus a key driver in the cycling of P in soil, both in shortterm (e.g. over a growing season), and in longer term, governing changes in soil P pools as soils develop. Greater insights in soil microorganisms’ role in cycling P in soil as a function of soil age, properties and management would create new opportunities for developing more sustainable
agricultural systems that make better use of P, whilst simultaneously preventing losses to the environment. In this project I will investigate the interactions between soil P, soil microorganisms, and soil characteristics that promote microbial P cycling and P availability to plants along a managed soil chronosequence (Industrial partner: Inden mine, RWE Power AG, Germany (RWE)). The site represents a unique opportunity to study P dynamics under the effect of management practices and microbial processes over time. I will use state-of-the-art methods (e.g. isotopic and spectromicroscopic techniques) to deliver a better understanding of how soil microorganisms can regulate P availability in soil. I will address the following scientific question: How do soil properties, management and time affect P dynamics driven by soil microorganisms? I will carry out the research at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Carsten Müller; and I will undertake a secondment to with the group of Plant Nutrition at ETH Zürich (Switzerland) under the supervision of Dr. Federica Tamburini.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
MSCA-PF - MSCA-PFCoordinator
1165 Kobenhavn
Denmark