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Project properties |
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| Title | How do root traits drive decomposition rates? |
| Group | Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Fons van der Plas |
| Examiner(s) | Fons van der Plas |
| Contact info | fons.vanderplas@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2023/10/01 |
| End date | 2027/12/31 |
| Description | Nearly half of Earth's plant biomass is belowground in the form of roots. Root materials are generally more fibrous and less digestible than aboveground plant parts, making their decomposition rates slower, so that the majority of plant-derived organic matter in soils is root-based. However, we still poorly understand in what is driving differences in decomposition rates among different plant species with different traits. In this project, you will study decomposition rates in different grassland plots where different plant species have been planted, and you will investigate how root decomposition rates are determined by various root traits, including chemical traits, morphological traits and their ability to collaborate with mycorrhiza. |
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