Description

Main topic: “Climate adaptive and resilient management of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)”

Sub-topic: “Identifying temperature stress threshold: physiological characterization and recovery capacity of tomato leaves under transient heat stress”

Start date: Open start date from January to April 2026

Background

Climate change has led to increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves, which negatively impact plant growth, physiological function, and yield, thus affecting greenhouse production. Temperature stress can rapidly disrupt leaf water status, membrane stability, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, and chlorophyll fluorescence. During the initial “alarm phase” of heat exposure, plants display early but potentially reversible physiological responses before irreversible damage occurs. Detecting this critical window can be crucial for effective greenhouse climate control. Therefore, our study aims to characterize early physiological markers of temperature-induced stress, with a focus on reversible responses. Specifically, we aim to define critical thresholds that separate reversible from irreversible stress responses by characterizing plant behaviour under controlled heat stress conditions and evaluating recovery dynamics post-exposure. The work can combine growth chamber trials with a complementary greenhouse experiment in the gas exchange greenhouse. Measurements will include leaf gas exchange, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, and thermal imaging. These data will support the development of a dynamic model to simulate time-dependent stress responses and recovery capacity, enhancing early detection and decision-making in horticultural systems.

Depending on your interest, the project can focus on experimental physiology and/or process-based modelling.

Who are we looking for:

• Master’s student from plant sciences, horticulture, greenhouse technology, agriculture engineering or related fields.
• Helpful skills (not required):
• Interest in plant physiology or greenhouse systems
• Basic statistical or modelling skills (with R, MATLAB, or Python or willingness to learn)
• Ability to work carefully and independently in climate chamber and greenhouse experiments.

Location: Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops in Großbeeren, Germany.

Skills you will gain:

• Hands-on experience with advanced plant-physiology instruments
• Skills in experimental design, data analysis, and basic modelling
• Experience working in an international research environment at IGZ

Interested? Please send a short motivation letter (max. 500 words) and your CV to:

Nurrahmi Fadilah (fadilah@igzev.de) with cc to Dr Oliver Körner (koerner@igzev.de),
Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops Großbeeren e.V., Department HORTSYS-2, Theodor-Echtermeyer-Weg 1, 14979 Großbeeren