NSCPHD1145 Plant Nutrients in Terrestrial Ecosystems - acquisition and turnover

Volume 2013/2014
Content

The course:

- gives an introduction to issues, concepts and methodologies used for studying plant nutrition and soil fertility

- has a focus on processes that determine nutrient acquisition and utilisation by plants and the turnover and bio-availability of plant nutrients in soils and fertilizers

- is interdisciplinary in its nature drawing on expertises from a range of different fields

- introduces the Phd students to cutting-edge techniques for plant and soil testing

- every year we aim at inviting one or more high-profile external teachers

The following topics will be covered in the 2014 edition of the course (minor changes may occur):

- Nutrient requirements of plants and uptake mechanisms
- Diffusion of nutrients and nutrient availability in soil
- Recent advances in soil Plant and Soil analysis
- Turnover of organically bound plant nutrients in soil - pools, processes and inputs
- New methods to visualize nutrients in soil and plants 
- Rhizoshere processes 
- Biofortification of plants
- During the practical exercises the students will be introduced to working with Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films (DGT)

Learning Outcome
Upon completing the course the student will exposed to state of the art knowledge on
- concepts and methodologies used for studying soil fertility and plant nutrition
- processes that determine nutrient acquisition and utilisation by plants and the turnover and bio-availability of plant nutrients in soils and fertilizers

The course is recommended for PhD students that want to work on issues related to plant nutrition and nutrient turnover in terrestrial ecosystems.
The course includes literature review before the course week with a written assignment, seminars given by specialist researchers as well as practical and theoretical exercises.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 20
  • Practical exercises
  • 10
  • Preparation
  • 70
  • Theory exercises
  • 10
  • Total
  • 110
Credit
5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Exam registration requirements
In order to pass the course, all participants must prove to be well prepared by handing in a written assignment before the course and by being actively engaged during seminars and exercises.