Join us in understanding, monitoring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Dutch peatlands. In this postdoc position you will work with a range of approaches — including molecular, microbial and geotechnical techniques — to tackle key scientific questions with real societal impact.
Your jobDutch drained peatlands are a significant source of CO2 emissions, contributing an estimated 3 to 4% of the total emissions of the Netherlands. The Dutch Climate Agreement has set a target of reducing annual emissions from peatlands by 1.0 Megaton by 2030. The Netherlands Research Programme on Greenhouse gas dynamics in Peatlands and organic soils (
NOBV) aims to monitor and evaluate measures designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate land subsidence in Dutch peatlands. One important aspect of these efforts is obtaining process understanding of greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon dynamics to better predict future emissions and the effects of potential mitigation measures.
Utrecht University (UU) plays a key role in this research programme by investigating decomposition processes under controlled conditions to unravel the mechanisms of peat decomposition, identify the main actors and predict the interaction between these actors and their environment. This way, the UU contributes to the essential understanding of the mechanisms of peat oxidation and enabling or inhibiting factors. One key research question is how mitigation measures designed to reduce greenhouse gas emission and peat decomposition will impact land subsidence.
In this two-year postdoc position, you will focus on the following key question: what determines the strength and stiffness of peat, and how is this influenced by the decomposition of organic matter? Your research will determine which part of the organic matter contributes most to peat strength, which organic matter pools are most labile and recalcitrant and how this relates to the structure of the peat. We expect that soil porosity, and changes therein, play an important role, and you will also examine feedbacks between soil porosity and decomposition. In total, you will thereby seek to predict how organic matter decomposition across different carbon pools will contribute to land subsidence. In this research, you will work closely with a PhD student investigating how peat composition and quality, microbial strategies and electron acceptor availability interact to determine decomposition rates. You will also work with the wider NOBV team to improve models used to estimate future rates of peat decomposition, greenhouse gas emissions and land subsidence.
In summary, this postdoc project focuses on the following key questions:
- What determines the strength and stiffness of peat?
- How are these factors influenced by organic matter decomposition?
- What are the interactions between soil porosity and decomposition rates, and how do they affect greenhouse gas emissions and land subsidence?
- Can physical, chemical and biological processes be combined to predict land subsidence rates under different hydrological and land use regimes?
In your research, you will utilize a range of approaches, combining molecular biological techniques, incubation experiments, geo-mechanical testing, microbial and chemical analysis of organic soils, and process modelling.
The position is available immediately, with a start date as soon as possible.