SOAR is a research school. In addition to the focus on PhD students, SOAR also includes graduates, postdocs and supervisors in the activities and networks. This is important because they also constitute the research environment, in which the PhD student is under education. SOAR wants to contribute to the professional discussions with a special focus on the organic food and farming systems.
The research interests of SOAR cover a wide range of subjects within organic agriculture and food systems:
The long-term aim will be the stabilisation of yield in crops/cultivars adapted to combinations of abiotic stresses, under a Mediterranean climate of cold, humid winters, and hot, dry summers. We will study the connection between drought and soil salinity, which often may develop together especially when using inadequate amounts or poor quality water for irrigation.
Background
Due to the competition for global water resources for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes, water deficits have become the single most limiting factor to crop production. Climate change will further amplify this problem. In the light of this, it is important to reduce the demand for irrigation, to improve water-use efficiency of crops, and to investigate and exploit drought tolerance mechanisms for sustainable crop production. The induction of ABA production in the root system is related to i.a. soil dehydration and salinity; and is a key component involved in acclimation of agricultural crops to stress conditions. ABA triggers partial stomatal closure, which decrease transpiration and often lead to higher water-use-efficiency. ABA production can to some extent be controlled by irrigation pattern and scheduling, but to define an optimum level of this control we need to develop comprehensive models of photosynthesis and transpiration that take into account the influence of climatic factors such as vapour pressure deficit, light, CO2 and temperature. Such models will also be important in order to foresee and develop strategies to cope with climate change effects on water resources. The present project is linked to the EU FP7 project on optimising agricultural production in the Mediterranean region: Sustainable water use securing food production in dry areas of the Mediterranean region (SWUP-MED). The student will spend time at both LIFE and DJF.
