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Project properties |
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| Title | Unravelling natural organic matter with root exudates |
| Group | Soil Biology |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Walter Schenkeveld or Ellis Hoffland |
| Examiner(s) | prof.dr. Rachel Creamer (SBL) or Prof. dr. Rob Comans (SOC) |
| Contact info | walter.schenkeveld@wur.nl / ellis.hoffland@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2023/05/01 |
| End date | |
| Description | Root exudates are extremely important in mobilizing nutrients and are increasingly seen as relevant to carbon sequestration in soils. They modify the biology and chemistry in the rhizosphere by several well known mechanisms. The aim of Tthis thesis project is to find out whether root exudates can also split large supramolecular associations in which organic matter is often organized and in which it is protected from decomposition. If confirmed, tThis would add an entire new role to root exudates in decomposition of organic matter and, perhaps, mineralization of nitrogen and phosphorus. |
| Used skills | collecting root exudates, using size-exclusion chromatography to study the potential of (constituents of) root exudates to split supramolecules consisting of humic acids into smaller particles. |
| Requirements | Depending on the thesis code (SOC81336/9 or SBL 81836/9) |