ECTS credits:
5 ECTS

Course parameters:
Language: English

Level of course: PhD (Masters and young researchers with strong interest are also welcomed)

No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: 125 hours in total, including lectures, exercises, lab and field trips, and assignments, as well as one week of preparatory reading

Capacity limits: 20 participants
 

Objectives of the course:

The course aims to provide participants with a deeper understanding of:

• the importance of the nitrogen cycle and of nitrogen losses as nitrous oxide, nitrate leaching, and ammonia volatilization.
• the main processes involved in nitrogen cycling.
• methodologies to measure nitrogen pools and fluxes.
• options to steer nitrogen cycling at the field scale.
• options to act on nitrogen issues from the perspective of consumers and policymakers.
• approaches to model nitrogen cycling at different scales.

Learning outcomes and competencies:

At the end of the course, the participants will be able to:

• have a better understanding of the role of nitrogen for a wide range of ecosystem services and sustainable development goals,
• have an overall view of the nitrogen flows in agroecosystems and in the food system,
• describe the key nitrogen transformations in the plant-soil-atmosphere continuum,
• understand interactions between the nitrogen and carbon biogeochemical cycles,
• describe the impact of agricultural management practices on nutrient cycling,
• understand different agricultural systems in relation to nitrogen inputs and outputs, considering their benefits and limitations,
• use different techniques to measure nitrogen fluxes,
• discuss dilemmas related to nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems, including trade-offs and policy initiatives.

Name of lecturers:

• Diego Abalos (Spain), Senior Researcher. Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Responsible for overview on nitrogen cycling and overall course coordination.
• Klaus Butterbach-Bahl (Germany), Professor. Land-CRAFT center, Aarhus University. Responsible for environmental nitrogen losses from local to global scales.
• Jan Willem van Groenigen (The Nethelands), Professor. Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Responsible for 15N techniques and the C sequestration-N dilemma.
• Winnie Ntinyari (Kenya), Postdoc, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Responsible for methodologies to measure nitrogen fluxes at field and lab scale.
• Clemens Scheer (Germany), Senior Researcher. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. Responsible for strategies to reduce nitrogen losses.
• Jim Rasmussen (Denmark), Senior Researcher. Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Responsible for organic nitrogen cycling.
• Huan Liu (China), Postdoc, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Responsible for model comparison in relation to nitrogen flows.
• Davide Cammarano (Italy), Professor. Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Responsible for nitrogen management in the context of precision agriculture and climate change adaptation.
• Diego Grados (Peru), Postdoc. Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Responsible for concepts and approaches to model nitrogen cycling.

Type of course/teaching methods:
Lectures, exercises, group work, lab and field trip, final assignment

Course assessment:
Classwork - satisfactory participation in the course; Group work and oral presentation. Prior to the course, each participant should prepare one slide PPT to introduce their research.

Provider:
Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, Postboks 50, DK- 8830 Tjele

Special comments on this course:
The course fee is EUR 600 / DKK 4500.

Time:
11-15 November 2024

Place:
AU Viborg – Department of Agroecology

Registration:
The deadline for registration is 30 May 2024. Please register here: https://events.au.dk/nitrogenphd2024

Admission information will be sent out no later than 30 June 2024.