Project properties
Title Decay rate of plant material exposed to a gradient of diverse plant communities – a tea bag decomposition experiment
Group Soil Biology
Project type thesis
Credits 12
Supervisor(s) Bobby Zetterlind and Marie Zwetsloot
Examiner(s) TBD
Contact info bobby.zetterlind@wur.nl
Begin date 2024/04/01
End date 2024/07/01
Description Multispecies swards consisting of different grasses, forbs and legumes are a promising alternative to high yielding and high input perennial ryegrass monoculture used in pasture production. Recent research shows that low input biodiverse swards can yield similar or higher yields then high input monoculture systems. Hence, these swards can serve as an alternative to increase biodiversity, gaining ecosystem services meanwhile producing high biomass quantity.
Although much research have focused on above-ground traits in diverse systems for finding complementarity between species that could increase yields, less have been focused on how root traits can be used to design multispecies mixtures. Within this context, the mechanisms through which root traits can complement each other and how root trait diversity influence soil processes is poorly understood.
The aim of this project is to understand how fast plant material decomposes under the influence of grassland communities with different biodiversity of forbs, grasses and legumes. The student will measure decomposition rate over time of 8 different grassland communities in the field designed to have complementary root traits.
The outcome of this project will help predict turnover rates of plant materials of diverse grassland communities and supporting the process of using a root trait framework to design such diverse systems that ultimately can be used for agronomical systems and better management practices.
Used skills: Literature review, writing proposal and thesis, Tea bag experiment (plant material), Field work, data analysis.
Used skills
Requirements Required courses for BSc thesis in Soil Biology