Postdoc Position within “Improving Phosphorus Bioavailability to Agricultural Crops and Soil Quality by Recycling Phosphorus Containing Products in Combination with Microbial Rhizosphere P Solubilization”

A 3-year postdoc position is available at the Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. The start date is 15 August 2024, or soon thereafter.

Project background
Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant nutrient with unique functions. In the soil, most P is found in insoluble inorganic or in slowly mineralising organic compounds. Consequently, P is often a limiting plant nutrient on a local scale, but also on a global scale due to the limited abundance of, and uneven access to, P containing rock reserves. Therefore, the objective of this project is to improve circular P management by activating naturally occurring processes in the rhizosphere to increase the bioavailability of P. This will be done by amending native soil microorganisms, with specialized P solubilizing abilities to agricultural soils. In addition, the project will investigate the microbially-mediated P solubilization from a range of waste products (e.g., sewage sludge, iron-rich filter material and lake sediments). Further, biochar produced from relevant P containing waste products will be studied to improve its fertilizer value and ability to improve the soil quality.

The announced postdoc position is part of the international and interdisciplinary project FERRO (Fostering European Lake Restoration by nutrient removal, recovery, and reuse: integrated catchment and in-lake solutions), which is led by the German UFZ (Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research) and funded by the EU. FERRO focuses on the recovery of P from catchments and lakes and reusing it in agriculture. Specifically in this sub-project, we aim at removing nutrient-rich water from the hypolimnion by solar-driven water pumps. The water will be pumped on land where P is removed by iron-rich filter material. For this purpose, different filter materials will be tested, aiming at efficient P removal as well as later P solubility and availability for plant growth in agriculture. 

Qualifications
We are looking for a motivated candidate to study different aspects of plant availability of P in soils amended with natural microorganisms and P containing waste products such as, e.g., lake sediments and wastewater sludge, and their biochar products. Plant experiments will be conducted and the mobility of P in soils will be assessed by various approaches such as, e.g., diffusive gradients in thin films (DGTs) analysis and chemical extractions. Furthermore, the candidate will pursue speciation of P and Fe species by different analytical chemical techniques, such as, e.g., ³¹P NMR spectroscopy and P K-edge XANES. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in P chemistry, knowledge on biochar and preferably also plant ecology and microbiology. The candidate should be able to work independently and to communicate fluently in English, have good writing skills as well as possess good interpersonal skills. Furthermore, teaching obligations at the Department of Biology should be expected.

The postdoc covers the area of soil biogeochemistry, microbiology and analytical chemistry and will be aligned with ongoing research at the Freshwater Ecology group at the Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark. 

Application deadline: 23 May 2024 at 23:59 hours local Danish time

Please see the full call, including how to apply, on www.sdu.dk