Post Doctoral Scientist - Soil and Manure Nutrient Cycling and GHG Emissions at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

• Millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa rely on livestock for their livelihoods; yet livestock is also connected to environmental externalities such as GHG emissions and water pollution. To achieve sustainable livestock development, we have to understand the impact of livestock on the environment (GHGs, soil health, water impacts) and vice versa at various scales. The knowledge gained through this position will help to prioritise good-bet options for low-emissions development and sustainable intensification of livestock production, and to build capacity in decision support, planning and investment in sub-Saharan African countries.
• The focus of this position will be on direct measurements and indirect estimations of GHG and ammonia emissions and nutrient cycling in different manure management systems and across soils of various land-use types (e.g., grassland, cropland, forest). The aim is to determine the magnitude of emission sources from livestock-agroecosystems, and to better understand the underlying processes and their controls. Furthermore, the position will test management interventions to reduce GHG emissions and other pathways of nutrient loss (e.g., nitrate leaching, ammonia volatilization) from livestock manure to improve on-farm nutrient circularity. Finally, the postdoc will develop nutrient budgets of livestock agroecosystems to understand the balance of carbon and nutrient flows entering (e.g. feed purchase, fertilizer inputs, BNF) and leaving (e.g. gaseous & leaching losses, sales of livestock & manure) the farm, as well as on-farm nutrient transformation (e.g. soil nitrogen cycling processes, decomposition).

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct soil nutrient and GHG measurements for different land use systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to detect emission hotspots and develop mitigation options;
• Develop management interventions through laboratory and field experiements to reduce GHG emissions and nutrient losses (C, N, P) from livestock manure and improve its fertilizer quality;
• Conduct measurements of nutrient cycling processes in soils and manure to understand the underlying drivers and controls;
• Conduct household surveys to better understand current manure management and crop fertilizing practices as well as barriers and incentives for improvement;
• Operate and manage laboratory and field facilities, specifically manual and automatic soil GHG flux chambers, laser absorption spectrometers included in various setups (e.g., manure incubation chambers, soil flux chambers) to quantify GHG emissions from soil and manure;
• Perform quality control and statistical analysis of the collected data;
• Write scientific papers and prepare conference presentations; contribute to other communication products (research briefs, policy briefs, stakeholder meetings etc.);
• Co-supervise PhD and MSc students and guide research technicians;
• Develop innovative concepts and ideas for further research (including proposal writing) to address environmental aspects of agricultural productions systems that do not compromise food security.
• Perform any other related duties as may be assigned

Requirements

• PhD in biogeochemistry, agronomy, geo-ecology, environmental sciences, soil science, or related fields
• Good understanding of carbon and nitrogen cycling processes and their controls in natural and/or agroecosystems
• Considerable practical knowledge of techniques and experience with equipment used in the measurement of GHG emissions from terrestrial ecosystems
• Ability to effectively manage, visualize and analyze (statistics) large datasets using standard programming languages (i.e., R, python, Matlab, etc.)
• Excellent spoken and written English
• Proven track record of scientific writing as first and/or corresponding author
• Knowledge of agricultural production systems in developing and/or developed countries is an asset
• Knowledge of chemical analysis of environmental samples (soil, manure, water) is an asset
• Experience with NH3 measurements is an asset
• Experience in doing household surveys using the ODK platform is an asset