Joint Training School of SUSTAIN & INSAS

1. Expressions of interest

The COST Action on sustainable use of salt-affected lands (SUSTAIN) aims to improve the understanding of soil salinity and its impact, and how to assess it and sustainably manage it. The first  SUSTAIN Training School of the COST Action, co-organised with the FAO International network of salt-affected soils (INSAS),  will focus on understanding:

• Living with salinity: getting the right plant into the right place in saline landscapes’
• Visualization of geospatial data of the “Comunidad Valenciana” using smartphone
• Different methods of determining soil salinity
• Modelling of Water Flow and Solute Transport in Salt-Affected Soils

Participants will be expected to attend in person at this Training School and will be given the opportunity to take part in the 4 workshops related to the theme of the Training School and discuss their work, and network with other ECIs and the trainers.

Two optional field trips will take place on 30 and 31 May and are open for participants to join.

Trainers

• Ed Barrett-Lennard, Principal Research Scientist, Agriculture and Food, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, WA, Australia
• Jorge Batlle-Sales, University of Valencia, Chair of INSAS
• Bas Bruning, The Salt Doctors
• Andres Parra, The Salt Doctors
• Meisam Rezaei, INSAS Vice-Chair, Soil and Water Research Institute

Tentative agenda

9:00-10:45 Living with salinity: getting the right plant into the right place in saline landscapes

10:45-11:15 Coffee break

11.15-13:00 Visualization of geospatial data of the “Comunidad Valenciana” using smartphone

13:00-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:45 Different methods of determining soil salinity

15:45-16:15 Coffee break

16:15-18:00 Modelling of water flow and solute transport in salt-affected soils

2. Eligibility

To be eligible to apply you should demonstrate the following in your application:

1. You are a MSc or PhD Student or an Early Career Investigator (ECI), in the field of salinity research (from soil to plant responses and socio-economic and ecological impacts) [ECI is defined by COST as “An individual who is within a time span of up to 8 years from the date they obtained their PhD/doctorate (full-time equivalent)”].
2. Provide a letter of recommendation for your participation to the Training School.
3. You must be engaged in an official research programme as a MSc or PhD Student or postdoctoral fellow or are employed by, or affiliated to, an institution, organisation or legal entity which has within its remit a clear association with performing research.

3. Important dates

The deadline for applications is 23^rd April 2024. Please send all the application via the Application Form [link].

If accepted, you will be expected to attend all workshops organised during the training school. After acceptance notification, each trainee must register for an e-COST profile at https://e-services.cost.eu in order to receive an official invitation letter by COST Association.

We expect to have 30 fully funded participants accepted for participation.

4. Location

The training school will be hosted by the University of Valencia, Faculty of Geography and History, Valencia, Spain

5. Evaluation Criteria

1. Eligible trainee (see section B).
2. Relevance of the candidate’s research and background to SUSTAIN and FAO INSAS scope and aims.
3. Relevance of the candidate’s’ research and background to the topic/
4. COST ACTION equality principle and Inclusiveness principles.