Internships
The Biology Centre of the CAS announces an open competition in accordance with the Act No. 283/1992 Coll. on the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Statutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences for a position Stabilization of dissolved organic carbon from root exudates and litter leachates in the soil.
Laboratory of Soil Organic Matter, Institute of Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry, Biology Centre CAS
Supervisor: Mgr. Veronika Jílková, Ph. D.
Title: Stabilization of dissolved organic carbon from root exudates and litter leachates in the soil
Temperate forests hold a great potential for storing soil organic C (SOC). The bulk SOC, however, is partitioned into fractions of soil organic matter (SOM) that differ in terms of formation, persistence, and function. As a result, the fractions might be differently affected by carbon (C) input chemistry (quality) and climate change. In a laboratory manipulation experiment, we compare the amounts of C in SOM fractions in mixed forest soils along the soil profile as affected by C input quality (i.e., litter leachates vs. root exudates) and increased temperature. Your task will be to assess C content in resulting soil fractions and partitionate the C into various plant-derived C compounds (neutral sugars, amino acids, organic acids and phenolics). Experience with chemical analytical methods (and possibly also with GC-MS and HPLC) is required.
The internship is supposed to take place during summer months (from June to September 2024).
For questions or enquiries, please contact: veronika.jilkova@upb.cas.cz
Application deadline: 04/30/2024