Postdoc position – Analyzing pesticide degradation across scales for sustainable food production

The amount and type of pesticide residues in soil are important indicators of soil health. Pesticide degradation in soil is a complex process influenced by microbial activity, soil properties, and farm management practices. Understanding these interactions is important for predicting pesticide persistence, optimizing sustainable agricultural practices, and mitigating environmental risks.

In this postdoc you will advance the fundamental understanding of pesticide residues in soils through experimentation, modelling, and big data analysis. You will:

• Combine existing farm management, soil property and soil pesticide residue data at the European scale to disentangle impacts of different drivers on the amounts and types of pesticides found in soil.
• Expand an existing trait-based model to understand and quantify the role of the microbial community in pesticide degradation.
• Validate the theoretical findings with degradation experiments in the soil-plant system.

Your duties and responsibilities include leading data analysis and writing of scientific publications and supervising master thesis students. This position is jointly funded by the Soil Geography and Landscape Group, Soil Biology Group, and  Soil Physics and Land Management Group. In addition, you will collaborate closely with the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission, including a 1 month research stay at the JRC in Ispra, Italy.

This position is for 2.5 years, the intended starting date is from 1st of September 2025 (or on agreement).