A three years PhD Position on “Model-based exploration of leverage points to foster sustainable nitrogen management in German agriculture” is offered from May 1, 2022 on with a methodological focus on social-ecological modelling and agent-based modelling.

The aim of the PhD project is to investigate the effects of policy measures for sustainable nitrogen management of farmers in Germany. This shall be achieved by developing an integrated model complex that makes both the socio-economic and the biophysical sides of the system explicit and thus allows the consideration of various types of policy measures as well as feedbacks within the system.

The Working Group POLISES (‘Policy Instruments and Social-Environmental Systems under Global Change’, www.polises.de) is a dynamic, interdisciplinary research team at the Department of Ecological Modelling at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ. It focuses on modelling human decision making in socio-environmental contexts, with a particular interest in the analysis of policy instruments. A main objective is to increase the real-world impact of socio-environmental modelling for management and policy support related to sustainable land use.

The application of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture has increased enormously worldwide. Their negative impacts pose major societal threats including groundwater pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss and related health problems. In this context, a new research project will be launched to investigate the effects of policy measures for sustainable nitrogen management of farmers in Germany.