Faculty of Science

Interactions between plants, microorganisms and soil - holistic system approach to study C, N and P cycling in terrestrial ecosystems
Provider: Faculty of Science

Activity no.: 5419-21-05-30	There are no available seats
	Enrollment deadline: 15/08/2021

Place	Department of Geoscience and Natural Resource Management
Date and time	03.10.2021, at: 18:00 - 08.10.2021, at: 12:00
Regular seats	20
ECTS credits	5.00

Contact person	Viktorija Wedersøe E-mail address: vw@ign.ku.dk

Enrolment Handling/Course Organiser	Carsten W. Müller E-mail address: cm@ign.ku.dk

Content Organization by Carsten W. Mueller (IGN) together with Kathrin Rousk (Biology) as cross disciplinary PhD course. Plants are key for the cycling of Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) in terrestrial ecosystems. Driven by photosynthesis, the above- and belowground plant parts harbor a vast number and diversity of microorganisms that rely on a continued supply of plant derived organic matter. In return, plant-associated microorganisms, such as mycorrhizal fungi in the rhizosphere or cyanobacteria on leaves, sustain plant growth by supplying the plant symbiont with nutrients (i.e. N, P). The release of organic compounds either by exudation from living roots or after plant senescence and death via decomposition sustains the cycling of nutrients between plants, microorganisms, soils and the atmosphere?. As soils represent the complex, three dimensional interface between biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere, the plant-microorganism-soil cycling of C, N and P links the biotic to the abiotic. Thus, to better understand the complex interactions in this system, a holistic approach is needed that combines knowledge from all disciplines within this continuum. The PhD course aims at crossing disciplinary borders between plant science, microbiology, atmospheric and soil science. The course will cover these disciplines and thus, will be relevant for PhD students working on aspects within ecology (plant, soil, microbial), biogeochemistry (C, N, P cycling), microbiology and ecosystem ecology. In addition to interactive lectures on the state-of-the-art of the themes, the course will include group work, small laboratory experiments, discussions and student presentations. Learning outcome The course participants will be able to critically discuss current trends in biogeochemistry focusing on the interface between plants, microorganisms, soil and the atmosphere. The participants will be introduced to new methods and will be able to apply them to their own and novel research questions. Literature Literature will be distributed before the course in the form of scientific articles. Preparation: reading the proposed literature, preparing short presentations of own research. Teaching and learning methods Lectures, seminars (including research presentations by the participants), discussion groups, experiments/lab exercises. Lecturers Christina Kaiser (University Vienna) Florian Wichern (Rhine-Waal University of Applied Science) Fulai Liu (University of Copenhagen) Michael Bonkowski (University of Cologne) Johannes Rousk (Lund University) Lars Vesterdal (University of Copenhagen) Kathrin Rousk (University of Copenhagen) Carsten W. Mueller (University of Copenhagen) Remarks How to Apply? Candidates should apply by sending both a CV (max. 2 pages) and a 300-word research statement outlining how your research pairs with the course’s focus to Kathrin Rousk kathrin.rousk@bio.ku.dk or Carsten W. Muelle cm@ign.ku.dk. The Course is open for 20 participants.

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