Safiye Tul

Research Area:

🌿Soil Biogeochemistry 🌿Carbon & Nitrogen Cycling 🌿Climate-Resilient Agriculture

"I’m passionate about understanding how Mediterranean soils respond to climate stress like drought and rewetting. These processes trigger unpredictable CO₂ and N2O fluxes and C degradation that threaten soil health and climate goals. I focus on soil processes that can be routed through organic farming strategies to build resilience and reduce GHG emissions," Safiye Tul.

About the mobility grant visit

Hosting Institution: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (MNBU), Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource

From April 2025 – July 2025

Project Title: Soil C and N Cycling in Cretan Orchard Karst Soils

Research methodology: Conduct controlled incubation experiments with Cretan orchard soils from ongoing field experiments testing organic management strategies.

Objectives of research visit:

Analyze C transformation dynamics by applying ¹³C isotopic tracers partitioning CO₂ emissions into biotic (microbial) and abiotic (carbonate) sources

Quantify microbial N transformation potentials as affected by soil management (till-no till, cover crop, pruning residues, biochar)

Clarify the mechanisms behind elevated CO₂ emissions during drying-rewetting cycles in Mediterranean karst soils

Evaluate how organic management practices influence soil C and N cycling, and GHG emissions

Expected results and relevance for the organic sector:

Robust data on how different organic farming practices affect soil C and N dynamics under climate fluctuations

Actionable insights to enhance soil health, carbon sequestration, and GHG mitigation in Mediterranean organic oliviculture systems

Contribute to EU soil restoration goals by identifying practices that build resilience in degraded karst soils

Supporting the organic sector’s role in climate adaptation

Highlights from the stay:

"The mobility visit was an invaluable opportunity to expand my academic network and strengthen professional collaborations. Working closely with colleagues at NMBU, I was exposed to new methodologies and perspectives that will directly benefit my ongoing research. Informal discussions and joint activities also opened possibilities for future collaborative projects and conference participation," Safiye Tul.

Experimental tanks used for greenhouse gas measurements to monitor the impact of animal manure applications, biogass digestate and other biorests etc. on Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under controlled conditions. These tanks allow for the assessment of gas fluxes and soil responses as part of sustainable soil and nutrient management research.

Conducting a denitrification experiment to measure nitrogen gas emissions and study microbial activity related to nitrogen loss in soils. This work contributes to understanding denitrification dynamics in sustainable soil management systems.

Conducting a nitrification experiment with a colleague to evaluate soil nitrogen transformation processes under controlled conditions. The experiment supports ongoing research on nutrient cycling and sustainable soil management practices.

Collecting CO₂ gas samples from dry–rewetting experimental bottles for isotopic measurements. This experiment investigates soil respiration dynamics and carbon fluxes under moisture fluctuation by simulating drying and rewetting cycles. The collected samples are analyzed for stable carbon isotopes (δ¹³C) to better understand microbial carbon sources and turnover in soil systems.

Discussing the nitrification experiment on a whiteboard, including hand-drawn graphs and data interpretations. This collaborative session facilitates deeper analysis of trends observed during nitrification and denitrification experiments, and supports planning for further steps in the research on sustainable soil and nutrient management.

Safiye Tul

PhD Candidate

School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Greece

Academic Background (BA and MA degrees):

BA degree Agricultural engineering, Ege University, Turkey, 2015-2019, Governmental scholarship

MsC degree, Sustainable agriculture, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, 2019-2021, MAICH Scholarship

Traineeship, Sustainable agriculture, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania and Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, 2021-2022, MAICH Scholarship

Revised 19.02.2026

Janne Rasmussen