PhD thesis: Importance of plant-fungi interactions in vertical-flow Nature-based Solutions for stormwater treatment

Objectives:
The primary objective of the PhD project is to explore how microbial communities associated with plant roots impact the effectiveness and longevity of vertical-flow Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for the treatment of stormwater. Symbiotic interactions with microbial communities are known to support plant growth under conditions of environmental stress. These interactions could improve infiltration conditions and prevent clogging in NbS for stormwater treatment. In addition, biologically very active biofilms increase pollutant removal, transfer and bio-degradation. While some studies exist on bacterial communities, the role of the overall plant-microbe associations including fungi in NBS remains poorly known, which also extends to the limited knowledge on pollutant transformation due to these associations, e.g. speciation and isotope fractionation for heavy metals in the “substrate-to-plant continuum”.

To investigate the potential links between the chemistry of substrate, organic and inorganic pollutants, the structure of the microbial communities and the services provided by the plants, microcosm experiments with several target plant species will be coupled with long-term data sets and supplementary investigations on plant biodiversity and water quality in situ at urban infrastructure sites for stormwater management.

The PhD student will be located in the Metropolitan area of Lyon, France. Research visits in Sweden for a period of three to six months will allow investigating the impact of colder climates. The costs of travel and stay are funded by the project.