AITTC: Assistant Professor in Marginal Soils Rehabilitation

About UM6P:

Located at the heart of the future Green City of Benguerir, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), a higher education institution with an international standard, is established to serve Morocco and the African continent. Its vision is honed around research and innovation at the service of education and development. This unique nascent university, with its state-of-the-art campus and infrastructure, has woven a sound academic and research network, and its recruitment process is seeking high-quality academics and professionals to boost its quality-oriented research environment.

About AITTC:

Agricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC) is part of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences(CAES), dedicated to providing high-quality research and services provision in the field of agronomy, soils, and environment for the benefit of Moroccan and African agriculture. The AITTC is seeking applications for a full-time Assistant Professor in the field of Sustainable Nutrient Management. Candidates with expertise in soil fertility, soil chemistry, agronomy, plant nutrition and soil nutrients dynamics, especially phosphorus under different pedoclimatic conditions and cropping systems, are privileged. This expertise is needed to complement AITTC research and teaching contributions:

• Soil fertility management and soil testing,
• Fertilizer industry, plant nutrition, and crop fertilization 
• Fertilizer and water use efficiencies
• Soil modelling
• Valorization and recycling of by-products 
• Rhizosphere research
• New products development and their agronomic and environmental evaluation

General Description

Soil degradation concerns many aspects including salinity, sodicity, mining, erosion, soil structural degradation and stability as well as contamination by different pollutants. Almost 40-50% of soils are prone to degradation due to mining, poor crop, soil and water management, soil organic matter decline and the quality of inputs (water quality and management, fertilizer,

amendments, by-product, biotic and abiotic stresses…). Their rehabilitation s should include the selection of adapted species, amendments including different by-product, land management, water harvesting technics, agroforestry as well as different approach of evaluation and depollution. These approaches ensure a sound agronomic and environmental evaluation for a sustainable rehabilitation while improving the ecosystem production and services, especially under limited rainfall and water resources.

The position is part of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science and the selected candidate will be affected at the Agricultural innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC). The candidate will participate in the research, education and RD activities related to restoration and biological and chemical rehabilitation of degraded soils.

Duties and Responsibilities and qualifications

The selected candidate will be expected to:

Research: Accepted candidate must have an expertise in soil science, soil rehabilitation, species adaptation and agroforestry to develop an innovative research activity, particularly in the research areas that include soil, water and plant specimens to learn about their phylogeny, features and adaptation by integrating different methods of agronomic and environmental evaluation of degraded soil and their rehabilitation to enhance soil quality, plant development, adaptation and collection, and overall farming practices for degraded soils. The candidate will work in different fields such as agriculture, forestry, environmental protection, and develop an integrated research program in collaboration with scientists and professor of UM6P and other partners. The knowledge of lab analysis and remote sensing, Agricultural Intelligence related to degraded soil is highly desirable.

Potential research areas will address current issues related to mine and marginal soil rehabilitation, and climate change focusing on:

• On soil fertility, nutrient and other pollutants composition and their dynamic in the plant-soil-climate system, water retention, management and harvesting and other soil properties related to soil quality,
• Develop and implement strategies to improve soil quality and fertility
• Assess and evaluate the impact of agricultural practices, such as crop rotation, tillage methods, pesticide use and mining activities on soil health and environmental sustainability
• Use advanced technologies, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) remote sensing, “Model numeric du terrain”to gather, and analyze data on soil and plant characteristics for mapping, monitoring and management purposes

Teaching: the selected candidate will contribute to the growing Agricultural Ecosystem Sciences and Environmental Science undergraduate degree programs.

Other duties and responsibilities:

• Establish an independent and innovative research program. Develop and maintain internal and external collaborations. Secure external research funding.
• Participate in teaching, supervision, and training activities.
• Manage and follow the permanent platform of species conservation and development

Skills and experience required:

• PhD in the field of Soil science, soil microbiology, agronomy, environment and, agroforestry Good publication record in leading international journals
• Experience in supervising students. Experience in conducting fieldwork.
• Aptitude for teamwork, problem solving and collaborative relationships. Excellent verbal and written skills in English
• Familiarity with laboratory techniques, equipment, and procedures for soil and plant sample analysis.