Research topic: Soil-related multifunctionality of sustainable urban drainage systems (Prof. Dr. M. Egerer)

Doctoral Candidate: SUDS (m/f/x) (Entg.-Gr. TV-L)

18.11.2024, Wissenschaftliches Personal

The Research Training Group “Urban Green Infrastructure - Training Next Generation Professionals for Integrated Urban Planning Research” aims to conduct inter- and transdisciplinary research into innovative approaches for liveable, sustainable and climate change resilient cities through green infrastructure. We are looking for a candidate for a 0.75 or 1.0 position (limited to three years) to be filled as of April 1, 2025 as part of a DFG-funded Research Training Group.

The soil-based ecosystem functions of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) depend on the soil structure and architecture controlled by the formation and structure of soil aggregates, as well as the plant species composition and the resulting soil-root interactions. A diverse plant community of SUDS can include wetland edge vegetation, such as wildflowers, sedges, rushes, ferns, shrubs and small trees. Below-ground, the plant-root systems influence infiltration through soil channeling to increase soil permeability that enhances stormwater filtering. Above-ground, these plantings can support urban insect habitat as well as complex insect-plant interactions that underly ecosystem functions, such as pollination, pest control and decomposition. Some wetland plant species may both be key for facilitating water storage but also may be, for example, insect pollinator-friendly through the provision of quality nectar and pollen, though this may be reduced by the uptake of stormwater contaminants.

This PhD research project will combine experimental and empirical approaches to inform the design and planning of multifunctional SUDS that support below- and above-ground ecosystem functions with both knowledge of soil-plant interactions as well as insect-plant interactions. It will study SUDS of various soil and plant combinations and how they affect below- and above-ground functions in different environmental contexts (e.g., along an urbanization gradient under different climatic conditions). Combining prior experiments that focused on soil structure, high carbon amendments (HCAs) and carbon storage in the laboratory, the PhD student should transfer the results into a semi-technical scale with real and synthetic stormwater runoff from buildings in vegetated infiltration swales implemented in outdoor plots at TUM Garching.

The objectives of the PhD are to (1) investigate the role of different soil compositions and wetland plant communities on soil-root interactions to improve soil structure for water infiltration, and (2) assess the ability of wetland plant communities to attract insects and increase insect abundance and functional group richness. Furthermore, they will (3) analyze the potential of SUDS to dually improve infiltration and insect habitat to inform the implementation of systems in different city contexts. Finally, they will (4) examine the status quo of SUDS in Munich from an ecological perspective and propose where experimental SUDS could be implemented within the City of Munich. The doctoral researcher will collaborate with vegetation scientists, engineers, soil scientists, ecotoxicologists and microbiologists.

Your profile:
-Excellent diploma or master’s degree in related field
-Motivation to elucidate complex biophysical and ecological processes that underly mechanisms driving multifunctionality in SUDS
-Excellent skills in laboratory and field experiments
-Excellent knowledge of soil science; knowledge of insect biology preferred
-Enthusiasm for and competence in ecological field work
-Experience with environmental data and quantitative data analysis
-Experience modelling and relevant languages (R, etc.)
-Pronounced scientific and writing skills are a benefit
-Interest in supervising and working with other students during your PhD
-Excellent knowledge of English, knowledge of German is preferred

The gender- and diversity-balanced filling of doctoral positions is a particular concern of ours.

Interested?
Send us your informative application documents (letter of motivation, CV, certificates) including a brief description of your previous activities as a single PDF file (file name: Research Topic_Lastname.Surename.pdf) to rtg.lapl@ls.tum.de

For technical and organizational questions about the Research Training Group, please contact the spokesperson:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Pauleit, pauleit@tum.de
If you have any questions about the various research topics, the professors mentioned will be happy to answer them.

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Kontakt: rtg.lapl@ls.tum.de

More Information

https://www.gs.tum.de/en/grk/urban-green-infrastructure/cluster-and-subprojects/cluster-3/subproject-11-soil-functionality/