Sebastian Kuśmierz, MSc
4th year doctoral student
Discipline: Agriculture and Horticulture

I had a 10-month internship abroad at Wageningen University & Research as a Guest Researcher in the Sustainable Soil Use Team, Wageningen Environmental Research. During the internship, I was invited to work in 3 foreign research projects that were related to the subject of my doctoral thesis.

First days at Wageningen University & Research

The Nutri2Cycle project is a multi-consortial international project aiming to contribute to sustainable agriculture by closing the nutrient loop in European agriculture. As part of this project, I was involved in preparing and conducting a field experiment of precision farming, the aim of which was to assess the possibility of using soil electrical conductivity mapping in confrontation with various methods of organic fertilization in order to reduce mineral nitrogen leaching into the deeper layers of soil profile.

During field work with Sustainable Soil Use Team scientists

As a follow-up study, I conducted a mesocosm respiration study on plasma-activated manure in order to decipher the induced soil-atmospheric flows of C and N caused by its soil application.

While working in the laboratory – measurements of soil respiration

Another project I was involved in was Mesttoediening en bodemleven – an overseas research project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. My role in the project included conceptualization, preparation, conducting and reporting of a multifaceted respiration study. The aim of the work was to determine the effect of the chemical composition and physicochemical parameters of natural fertilizers on CO₂, N₂O, CH₄ and NH₃ gaseous fluxes accompanying its soil application.

With my supervisor while working on the project

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…  During the internship in the Netherlands, I developed my passions and met new friends. I actively practiced sports: cycling and running, and also visited charming towns, learning about the history and traditions of the Netherlands.

During the bike route

Sint-Joriskerk, Amersfoort