Project properties
Title Effects of plant diversity and soil type on soil carbon cycling
Group Soil Biology
Project type thesis
Credits 24-39
Supervisor(s) Robin Guilmot (SBL); Gabriel Moinet (SBL)
Examiner(s) To be determined
Contact info Robin Guilmot (robin.guilmot@wur.nl), Gabriel Moinet (gabriel.moinet@wur.nl)
Begin date 2024/09/01
End date
Description Managing terrestrial ecosystems to increase the carbon contained in soils can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Soil carbon is also key to supporting ecosystem functioning and is therefore critical for sustainable land use. However, our understanding of soil carbon dynamics is still limited and hinders accurate predictions of the evolution of climate and the development of farming practices promoting or maintaining the broad range of ecosystem services supported by soil carbon. Dynamics of organic carbon in soil are determined by many biotic and abiotic factors that interact together and can increase or limit carbon stabilization. Among these factors are substrate diversity, which influences decomposition rates, and mineral surface availability, which determines stabilization rates. In agricultural grasslands, increasing plant diversity leads to an increased root exudates diversity, that could result in a more efficient decomposition by microbial communities, through increased complementarity. The fate of carbon is further influenced by soil texture, which determines the mineral surface available for the formation of organo-mineral bonds.

The aim of this project is to investigate the effects of increasing plant diversity on carbon cycling in two contrasting soil types. In a previously established field experiment consisting of 7 plant composition treatments repeated in a clay and a sand soil, you will look into the effects of plant community composition and soil type on carbon cycling. This will be done using a fractionation protocol, to determine how much carbon ends up in labile and stable fractions. This experiment will provide important mechanistic knowledge to understand the role of grassland diversification in improving ecosystem carbon cycling.
The results will also inform farmers and policy makers of the potential benefits of promoting plant diversity in agricultural grasslands for climate change mitigation and sustainable production.
Used skills Literature review, writing proposal and thesis, experimental design, chemical and biological laboratory work, data analysis.
Requirements Required courses for MSc thesis Soil Biology (see Mandatory Knowledge at https://wur.osiris-student.nl/#/onderwijscatalogus/extern/cursus/?cursuscode=SBL81836&collegejaar=huidig)