MSc Thesis Topics Soil Geography & Landscape
If you consider doing your MSc thesis with the Soil Geography & Landscape group, please make an appointment with the MSc thesis coordinator Jakob Wallinga. This document serves as a first orientation prior to meeting the coordinator.
> MSc thesis topics
At the Soil Geography and Landscape group we offer a list of MSc thesis topics. However, we also encourage you to design your own thesis topic together with your supervisor of choice. To provide some inspiration, we present a general description of a thesis for each of the three suggested learning paths of the Soil Geography and Earth Surface Dynamics specialisation:
Thesis Soil Geography and Data Science
You will work with data and related models that have a spatial and/or temporal component and are usually soil or landscape related. Examples of thesis topics are conventional and digital soil mapping, statistical validation of soil maps, remote and proximal sensing, soil monitoring and spatial sampling design, pedotransfer functions, big data applications, urban soils, machine learning and spatial interpolation. Potential supervisors include (along with field of expertise in this context):
| prof.dr.ir. GBM (Gerard) Heuvelink | Mathematical and statistical techniques |
| dr. A (Annegret) Larsen | Biota, humans and fire on earth-surface-processes |
| dr. PSJ (Philip) Minderhoud | Spatial-temporal modelling of deltaic subsidence |
| dr.ir. VL (Titia) Mulder | Remote sensing; spatial, temporal and soil-landscape modelling |
| dr.ir. CR (Cathelijne) Stoof | Fire risk, mapping and behavior |
| dr.ir. JJ (Jetse) Stoorvogel | Soil-land use interactions |
| dr. V (Slava) Vasenev | Internet of things technologies and remote sensing to monitor urban soils and green infrastructure |
Thesis Earth Surface Dynamics
You will investigate changes at the earth surface, resulting from natural and/or human influences. Subjects include erosion and sedimentation, archaeology, urban soils, land subsidence in deltas, bog developments. Your project will often include fieldwork and mapping, followed by laboratory work (e.g. luminescence dating) and analysis, or modelling (e.g. landscape evolution modelling using LAPSUS). Potential supervisors include (along with field of expertise in this context):
| dr. R (Roy) van Beek | Landscape archaeology; interdisciplinary research; cultural heritage management |
| dr. JHJ (Jasper) Candel | Fluvial geomorphology, river restoration |
| dr. EL (Liz) Chamberlain | Marine sedimentology and particularly research dealing with fine-grained marine and estuarine sediments; OSL dating |
| dr. A (Annegret) Larsen | Sediment erosion and transfer in the landscape |
| dr. IM (Ingrid) Lubbers | Soil biota, ecosystem services |
| dr. A (Bart) Makaske | Geography, geology, soil sciences, geological sedimentation, deltas, rivers, geomorphology, physical geography |
| dr. PSJ (Philip) Minderhoud | Subsidence and relative sea-level rise in coastal-deltaic areas |
| dr. JM (Jeroen) Schoorl | Lapsus: dynamic landscape evolution model |
| dr. V (Slava) Vasenev | Urban soils; soils and green infrastructure |
| prof.dr. J (Jakob) Wallinga | Dynamics of soils and landscapes; development OSL dating |
Thesis Sustainable Land Use
You will investigate nature-based solution approaches for sustainable land-use. Subjects include: multi-functional land evaluation, soil and landscape resilience, soil biodiversity, rewilding, agriculture, wildfires, and carbon sequestration. With all those topics, the focus is primary on landscape scale, and research topic usually include interactions and feedbacks of natural processes and human/societal actors. Typically a thesis includes fieldwork, and perhaps also interviewing stakeholders, followed by data analysis. Potential supervisors include (along with field of expertise in this context):
| dr. JHJ (Jasper) Candel | River restoration |
| dr. A (Annegret) Larsen | Soil and landscape resiliance |
| dr. IM (Ingrid) Lubbers | Soil biodiversity |
| dr. PSJ (Philip) Minderhoud | Subsidence of coastal-deltaic areas; creating awareness and coping strategies |
| dr.ir. VL (Titia) Mulder | Soil carbon dynamics, ecosystem dynamics, and climate change adaptation |
| dr.ir. CR (Cathelijne) Stoof | Fire risk, impact and management, cross-risk approaches |
| dr. JM (Jeroen) Schoorl | Erosion |
| dr.ir. JJ (Jetse) Stoorvogel | Soil fertility management, tropical soil related diseases |
| prof.dr. J (Jakob) Wallinga | Ecosystem services on landscape level |
Thesis examples
Teun Fiers (2020) A new global assessment of soil nutrient balances
More thesis examples
> Watch SGL topics in action:
Fieldwork in France 2015 (Anna Broers, Tijn van Orsouw)
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Fieldwork in Kenya 2014 (Renee van Dongen)
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Fieldwork Archeology and Soil Science (Maud van Soest)
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