Postdoc in root-microbe-mineral interactions

Do you want to contribute to understanding how we can optimize soil carbon storage and minimize greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural grasslands, under current and future climates? Do you want to unravel the interactions between roots, microbes, and minerals that govern these processes? Do you love field work as well as running mechanistic experiments? We are looking for a postdoc within the NWA project "Harnessing root-microbe-mineral interactions for climate friendly agricultural soils", led by Prof. Franciska de Vries. This project will investigate the role of root-microbe interactions in forming stable soil organic matter in different soil types and under future climate scenarios. We will do this using a range of different approaches, from field experiments to controlled greenhouse experiments, involving stakeholders from the start in a co-creation process, and in collaboration with Dutch Statistics (CBS), Eurofins, Amsterdam Green Campus, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. We are looking for a postdoc with a strong theoretical and practical background in plant-soil interactions, and with experience in relevant techniques for studying these interactions, such as plant and soil nutrient and carbon analysis, and DNA-based techniques for microbial community analysis, as well as experience in, and affinity for, field work.

What are you going to do

You will test how extreme weather events affect the stabilisation of soil organic matter in Dutch agricultural grasslands, and you will interrogate the root-microbe-mineral interactions responsible. You will be responsible for setting up and carrying out field and glasshouse experiments, as well as analysing the resulting data and existing data (in collaboration with CBS and Eurofins) and communicating results via presentations and publications in leading journals. You will also have a leading role in communicating with project stakeholders (farmers, local governments, policymakers, industry), and co-creating experimental designs and implementation, together with the project PI and Amsterdam Green Campus. You will give significant input to the scientific direction of the project, and you will write reports to the funder in a timely and efficient way. You will work closely together with the project team, and you will communicate research plans and findings with the project team, collaborators, and stakeholders. You will determine the priorities of these activities in close consultation with the project PI. You will also be expected to:

• Actively read the literature relating to (and around) the project
• Take a leading role in communication with stakeholders
• Show willingness to contribute to the work of others in the lab by offering practical and intellectual help, including technical staff and post-graduate students.
• Take an active part in group meetings, and to give presentations at these when required.
• Supervise postgraduate and undergraduate students, if and when requested
• Plan and manage own research activity in collaboration with others.