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Project properties |
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| Title | Organic amendments to improve soil water retention |
| Group | Soil Biology |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Ellis Hoffland (SBL) or Loes van Schaik (SLM) |
| Examiner(s) | prof.dr. Rachel Creamer |
| Contact info | Ellis.hoffland@wur.nl; loes.vanschaik@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2022/10/01 |
| End date | |
| Description | Climate change leads to more frequent drought and high intensity rainfall events. In recent years, arable production suffered from both, with droughts being particularly impactful on sandy soils. Innovations are needed to prevent freshwater reserves from being depleted and crop production from being water-limited. Against this background we wish to design measures to improve infiltration and soil water retention through selective amendment of organic matter that promotes soil water retention. However, we do not know which quality of organic matter is particularly effective in promoting soil water retention.
In this thesis study, you will design an experimental set-up to test several types of organic matter on their capacity to improve soil water retention. On the long run, we would like to link this capacity to chemical characteristics of organic amendments, such that we are better able to advise farmers on organic matter management with the purpose to mitigate the impact of droughts and heavy shower |
| Used skills | Literature review, writing proposal, and thesis, experimental design, laboratory skills, and data analysis. |
| Requirements | Required courses for MSc thesis in Soil Biology |