El IAS ofrece dos contratos de PhD

Do you want to perform a PhD in Agricultural related sciences?

The Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (IAS) of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) is offering 2 PhD Positions.
The PhD students will participate in the Innovative Training Network “Macro and microplastic (MiPs) in agricultural soil systems” (SOPLAS), which is funded via the European Commission within the Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions. SOPLAS is one of the largest EU funded projects focusing on the sustainability of plastic use in agriculture. Overall 14 PhDs, hosted by 11 research institutions, will be part of the program. The IAS-CSIC is offering these two projects:

* Assessing the impacts of microplastics on plant-associated microbiome.
The research topics of the studentships broadly fall into determining the impact of MiPs contaminating agricultural soils on the functioning and biodiversity of soil and associated-plant microbiome under different environmental conditions and soil types following three main lines:
(1) Determine the effect of MiPs on functioning and biodiversity of soil and associated-plant microbiome.
(2) Determine the effect of MiPs on soil borne plant pathogens and disease development.
(3) To determine the effect of climatic conditions and soil type on impact of MiP addition to plant growth and plant-associated microbiome.
The student will be part of the EU Innovative Training Network, which includes frequent travelling to the project study areas and half-yearly one-week training events distributed over several countries of Europe. Moreover, stays of two months are planned at each of the following project partners: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn (Germany), and the Universitaet Fuer Bodenkultur Wien (Austria).
Main Supervisor: Blanca B. Landa,  blanca.landa@ias.csic.es

* Redistribution of plastic within the soil column affecting soil hydraulic properties and leaching.
The research topics of the studentships broadly fall into determining the vertical redistribution of Macro(MaP) and Micro-plastics (MiP) in agricultural soils under different edaphic conditions and investigating their impact on soil hydraulic properties following three main lines:
(1) determine the vertical redistribution along the soil profile, due to percolation, tillage and bioturbation;
(2) analyse the distribution of MiPs on different aggregate sizes and determine the stabilization of MiP against leaching
(3) determine the effect of MaP on soil hydraulic properties, which potentially affect leaching and surface runoff generation.
The student will be part of the EU Innovative Training Network, which includes frequent travelling to the project study areas and half-yearly one-week training events distributed over several countries of Europe. Moreover, stays of two months are planned at each of the following project partners: the University of Lancaster (UK), Augsburg University (Germany) and the Czech Technical University (Czech Republic).
Main Supervisor: José A. Gómez, joseagomez@ias.csic.es