|
Project properties |
|
| Title | Biodiversity for self-cleaning soils |
| Group | Soil Biology |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 36-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Alix Vidal and Esmer Jongedijk |
| Examiner(s) | TBD |
| Contact info | esmer.jongedijk@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2024/04/15 |
| End date | 2024/09/15 |
| Description | Soil chemical contamination is a significant threat to biodiversity and soil function. Presently 60-70% of Europe’s soils are considered unhealthy. However, maybe a start of the solution could already be in the soils themselves, as soil microorganisms have capacity to degrade chemicals.
In this thesis project you will investigate the relation between soil biodiversity and chemical contamination. The thesis project will focus on one specific chemical soil contamination, namely that of pharmaceuticals. You will test innovative mitigation approaches by means of experiments and data-analysis, with the goal of increasing biodiversity and decreasing soil chemical contamination. You will be part of a research project that runs with Wageningen Plant Research (BU Biointeractions and Plant Health), Wageningen Food Safety Research (BU Veterinary drugs and authenticity) and NIOO KNAW. Methodology: soil experiments, sampling, DNA analysis (16S and ITS sequencing), chemical analysis (LC-MS), advanced data analysis on soil microbial biodiversity and chemical degradation, statistics |
| Used skills | |
| Requirements | |