RESEARCH FELLOW for FERTILAB project

The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), offers a full-time Research Fellow position within Fertilab project, reference PLEC2022-009252 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Union “NextGenerationEU”/ PRTR. BC3 is looking for a Research Fellow who is interested in assessing the overall sustainability performance of innovative bio-products and technologies linked to the production of nutrient enriched biofertilizers and organic amendments with biopesticide and biostimulant properties. The position will be based at the Research Line of Terrestrial Ecosystems, in the Research group of Agriculture and Livestock systems.

About the project:

The job is associated with the existing FertiLab project. This multidisciplinary initiative focuses on transforming digested sludge from various sources—an abundant waste material found throughout Spain—into valuable resources for producing value-added products. The project will evaluate the most promising novel bio-products and innovative technologies for their overall sustainability performance. This assessment will adopt a comprehensive perspective, incorporating socio-economic and environmental evaluations through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and regional modeling. To achieve this, a methodological framework and regional approach will be developed, combining modeling at the manure management/treatment and soil- plant levels with LCA estimation methods. This will help identify the most environmentally advantageous bio-products, considering trade-offs among different impacts, while also detecting potential socio-economic implications and barriers that could hinder their implementation in the context of a circular economy.

Job description:

The job will be divided into 3 different tasks.

-Task 1: Conduct an environmental evaluation, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis, of the best-performing scenarios.

A methodological framework will be developed that couples modeling approaches with LCA methodology to identify the most advantageous practices for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, as well as potential trade-offs among circularity and other environmental impacts. An attributional, cradle-to-farm- gate LCA approach will be applied, considering a set of impact categories typically explored for agricultural products. These categories are also relevant in terms of resource use, including climate change, eutrophication, acidification, abiotic depletion, water consumption, and cumulative energy demand. The LCA studies conducted will involve various practices and be applied to a set of case studies related to the trials and experiences conducted in the project. Models such as SIMSWASTE, SIMSDAIRY, and RothC will be utilized to analyze the environmental improvements resulting from the shift from conventional fertilizers to new biofertilizers.

– Task 2: Socio-Economic Evaluation

Assess the economic feasibility of the bio-products and technologies investigated through a cost-benefit analysis of their production processes.

– Task 3: Regionalization of Best-Performing Scenarios

Simulate scenarios and compare the effects of adopting some of the most successful strategies tested in this project against current practices (baseline conditions) at a regional level (Spanish Mediterranean area). An integrated modeling framework will be employed, comprising geographic information systems (GIS), models to simulate changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) such as RothC, and models to analyze nutrient flows and losses from agricultural soils and waste management systems (e.g., SIMSWASTE). Additionally, recent Tier 2 IPCC methods will be utilized. This framework will be applied at the sub-regional scale (provincial: EUROSTAT NUTS3). Using these methodologies, the emissions of GHG, NH3, and leaching losses of NO3- and P at the sub-regional scale will be estimated.

Key responsibilities:

Coordinating various tasks, developing, integrating, and applying the methodological framework to the specified case studies in the job description. Communicating with different Spanish groups within the project to ensure effective completion of these tasks.

Main requirements/skills:

Benefits and work environment:

Starting in March 2025, the position will be linked to the end of the project (estimated date: 30 November, 2025).

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The position will carry competitive salary, matching the academic and professional profile of the applicant, and excellent work conditions.

Basque Centre for Climate Change, Leioa, Spain.

As an HR Excellence awarded institution, BC3 is committed to conciliating research-academic requirements and family duties. BC3 is particularly concerned with creating equal opportunities for people independently of gender, culture, and race. Anyone with relevant qualifications is therefore strongly encouraged to apply for the position.

Fill the form below and upload one PDF document with the following information:

13 February, 2025 (CET 15:00).

Informal enquiries can be made to Prof Agustin del Prado ( [email protected]) noting in the subject of the message “ RESEARCH FELLOW FOR FERTILAB PROJECT ”.

Please consider that only applications sent through the form included at the bottom of the BC3 web page will be considered (https: // info.bc3research.org/job-offers/).,

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Proyecto PLEC2022-009252 financiado por MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/PRTR