Frederic Leuther: Theses supervised
Bachelor's Theses | |
Theresa Wittig |
The effect of soil structure on soil evaporation Supervisor: Frederic Leuther, Efstathios Diamantopoulos |
Alina Langaki |
The effect of crop resiudes on soil hydraulic properties Supervisor: Frederic Leuther, Efstathios Diamantopoulos |
Lara Ketterer (2024) |
The effect of fluorinated ski wax on the wetting properties of sandy and loamy soils Ski sports like cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and biathlon are popular winter sports. Applied ski waxes reduce the friction between snow and ski and therefore increase the ski gliding. Parts of the ski waxes can enter the soil due to snow melting.
To test this hypothesis the contact angle is measured directly with the sessile drop measurement and indirectly by the Washburn method with the DCAT 11 advice. Two PFAs containing wax products (powder and liquid) are applied to sandy soil in various concentrations. The concentrations are based on their PFAs content and the PFAs concentrations measured directly in Nordic Skiing areas. Supervisor: Frederic Leuther, Efstathios Diamantopoulos |
Master's Theses | |
Adina Rauscher |
Experimental and numerical investigation of the fate of insoluble pollutants in the rhizosphere Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) occur ubiquitously in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems all around the world and are a group of chemicals among the so called “persistent organic pollutants” (POPs). PAHs comprise several hundred chemically related compounds and some of them are known to have toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects on humans and other living organisms Although PAHs are considered to be very poorly soluble in water, there appears to be transport of molecules in soil that allow them to be distributed, clog pores, or accumulate at the soil plant interface. Especially for high molecular weight PAHs, colloidal and particulate transport is assumed to be an important process. Little is known about the exact transport processes in soil and whether plants can influence this transport by suction Hypotheses
Methods To test the first hypothesis an experiment is to be carried out with undisturbed soil columns without plants. An irrigation head with needles will be used to supply water to the columns, which will also contain any tracers and particles. Three steps are planned: i nvisible tracer (e.g., chloride) chloride), p articles + PAH s, inv isible and visible tracer (brilliant blue) blue). For each step, the drainage at the bottom of the column will be collected and analysed, and at the end the distribution of the particle bound PAHs in the column will be investigated. To test the second hypothesis, undisturbed soil columns with maize plants are to be used. Again, particle bound PAHs will be supplied via the irrigation system; then drying and rewetting phases will follow. The drainage will be collected and analysed and the distribution of particle bo und PAHs around the root will be studied. Supervisor: Frederic Leuther, Efstathios Diamantopoulos, Eva Lehndorff |
Sarah Bossinger |
Einfluss der Bodeneigenschaften auf die Verteilung der Naturverjüngung im Klimawald Bayreuth Der Klimawald 1.0 in Bayreuth entstand 2019 durch eine studentische Initiative, die bei einer Pflanzaktion zwölf verschiedene heimische und nichtheimische Baumarten auf einer durch Hitze und Trockenheit geschädigten, circa 1 ha großen Fläche pflanzte. Diese sollen besser an die zukünftigen Klimawandelszenarien angepasst sein als Fichte (Picea abies) und Kiefer (Pinus sylvestris), die in der Vergangenheit großflächig angepflanzt wurden. Neben den gepflanzten Bäumen hat sich auch eine üppige Naturverjüngung entwickelt, die bereits kartiert wurde. Dabei fiel eine ungleiche Verteilung über die Fläche auf. Ein signifikanter Zusammenhang mit den Lichtverhältnissen konnte dabei aber nicht gefunden werden. Neben den Lichtverhältnissen sind die Bodeneigenschaften ein wesentlicher Faktor, der das Wachstum von (jungen) Bäumen beeinflusst. Vorhergehende Untersuchungen legen nahe, dass die Fläche verschiedene Bodentypen und eine Heterogenität der Textur aufweist. Deshalb sollen in dieser Masterarbeit durch eine ausführliche Analyse verschiedener Bodenparameter Korrelationen zu der Verteilung der Naturverjüngung gefunden werden. Supervisor: Frederic Leuther, Eva Lehndorff |
Hai Anh Nguyen (2024) |
Simultaneous quantification of water states, fluxes and bVOCS emissions in agriculture soils Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by living organisms via biological processes, which are known as biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), are an important group of chemicals that has significant influences on atmospheric chemistry, climate system, as well as the bioactivities of plants and animals. Whereas plant-emitted BVOCs have been widely studied for the past decades, the understanding of soil related BVOCs remains inadequate. A variety of abiotic and biotic processes taking place beneath the ground makes soil both a sink and a source for BVOCs. Hypotheses
Methods To test the two hypotheses, we conduct transient water drying and wetting experiments, and we quantify simultaneously BVOC sources and sinks, as well as soil water states and fluxes. Supervisor: Frederic Leuther, Anke Nölscher, Efstathios Diamantopoulos |