Postdoc position: Anticipating Biological Succession in Rehabilitation of Long-Term Operated Nature-Based Solutions for Stormwater Treatment in Different Climate Zones

The position is funded through the research project “Anticipating Biological Succession in Rehabilitation of Long-Term Operated Nature-Based Solutions for Stormwater Treatment in Different Climate Zones” (BioReStorm) financed under the BiodivNBS scheme. The work proposed within this projects aims at the scientific objectives (i) identifying the contribution of fungal and bacterial communities to a successful plant establishment under the demanding conditions of stormwater NbS (nutrient scarcity, pollutant and hydraulic shock loads, extended drought periods) under different climatic conditions (impact of rainfall patterns, climate zones, etc.), (ii) evaluating the impact of long-term operation on biodiversity development and natural succession of plants and microbial communities of full-scale stormwater NBS in different climate zones, (iii) determining the impact of long-term operation and the extent to which plant community changes over time and space on hydraulic and treatment (mal-)function of stormwater NBS compared to shortcomings of initial design, implementation and/or maintenance, and (iv) optimising rehabilitation and initial design concepts of stormwater NBS based on biological succession as observed under long-term operation, and implement rehabilitation measures into guidelines, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

Activities within the project will be the setup and running of microcosm experiments at the greenhouse platform of the University of Lyon 1 to test different conditions of stormwater NBS at small scale as well as field sampling, sample preparation for diverse analyses, determination fungal and bacterial functional groups after metabarcoding analyses of soil and plant roots. Plant growth will be characterised through the measurements of functional traits and physiological traits. 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 candidate will work closely with the PhD student recruited for this project.