PhD Position – Plant root water uptake and its dependence on soil types

Water uptake by plant via its roots and subsequent transpiration via the leaves is not only vital for the plants themselves but beyond that, also for the global water cycle as the plants transpire about forty percent of terrestrial precipitation. However, root water uptake is a very difficult process to measure in situ because of the opaque nature of soil. Thanks to a recent technological breakthrough (the Soil Water Profiler, SWaP) at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, root water uptake can be monitored in far greater detail than before, which sheds fresh light on this topic. Combining the SWaP with unique detailed plant and soil hydrologic models, is bound to yield vital new insights into how plants control water uptake from different soils. These insights can help to improve plant performance for climatic conditions that are increasingly challenging.

The goal of this project is to determine the influence of different soil types on root water uptake and plant development via different types of measurements combined with a sophisticated 3D computer model of plant soil systems.

Your tasks in detail are:

• Using technologies like SWaP, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, leaf water potential sensors and a variety of other sensors to observe plant and soil hydraulic status
• Use and adaptation of biophysical models of water and solute fluxes in the soil-plant system

The position is initially for a fixed term of 3 years.

The job will be advertised until the position has been successfully filled. You should therefore submit your application as soon as possible.