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Dr. Viktória Feigl e-mail:[email protected] Title of the research topic: Development of soil microbiological and ecotoxicological test methods for monitoring the effects of amendments on degraded soils Description of the research topic: Soil amendments can be applied for the improvement of degraded soils with nutrient or organic matter deficiency, acidic or alkaline pH, inappropriate mechanical properties etc. For example red mud (the by-product of the alumina industry) or biochar (made from organic wastes by pyrolysis) can be used for the improvement of acidic and sandy soils. However, there is a knowledge gap on the detailed effect of these amendments in soils, so further studies on the microbiological and ecotoxicological effects are needed. Due to some special properties of these amendments, such as small particle size for red mud or high adsorption capacity for biochar, the adaptation and development of new soil microbiological methods (e.g. enzyme activities, substrate induced respiration, RNA techniques) and ecotoxicological tests (with more sensitive and/or different measurement endpoints, such as avoidance tests with animals or with new testorganisms) are planned to be carried out during this PhD work. These tests are applied as part of a complex methodology for the follow-up of the treatment of degraded soils, which includes physical (e.g. surface properties, soil mechanical properties), chemical (e.g. nutrient and micronutrient content, toxic element determination), biological and ecotoxicological monitoring methods. The results are evaluated in an integrated way by statistical methods and the verification of the technologies is carried out.