Project properties
Title How do different soil organic matter fractions respond to warming?
Group Soil Biology
Project type thesis
Credits 24-39
Supervisor(s) Karen Moran Rivera (SBL, SOC), Mathilde Hagens (SOC) Gabriel Moinet (SBL),
Examiner(s) prof.dr. Rachel Creamer
Contact info karen.moranrivera@wur.nl; mathilde.hagens@wur.nl; gabriel.moinet@wur.nl
Begin date 2022/10/01
End date
Description Soil organic matter (SOM) stores large amounts of carbon. Under the influence of climate change, higher temperatures have the potential to stimulate SOM decomposition, accelerating the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Consequently, increased SOM decomposition can positively reinforce the feedback to climate change.

SOM is heterogeneous and requires fractionation into different pools with contrasting characteristics. A recent framework suggest that SOM can be divided into particulate and mineral-associated pools. The decomposition rates of these two SOM pools are controlled by biotic (i.e., enzymatic depolymerization) and abiotic (i.e., sorption-desorption) processes that are significantly affected by temperature changes. However, we don’t understand how to link the new framework of SOM decomposition to temperature. As result, how much carbon will be lost from different SOM pools due to global warming is difficult to predict.

In this thesis, you will evaluate the response of particulate organic matter and mineral-associated organic matter to increasing temperature. You will incubate these different pools in a temperature gradient block and measure CO2 production. Additionally, you will conduct measurements on soil pH, physical fractionation, C content on each fraction, mineralogy, and, depending on your interest, possibly other techniques. You will learn to analyze complex datasets and use multiple statistical approaches.
Used skills Literature review, writing proposal, and thesis, experimental design, laboratory skills, and data analysis.
Requirements Required courses for MSc thesis in Soil Biology OR Soil Chemistry and Chemical Soil Quality