Guanying Chen of China carried out her Ph.D.-studies at Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at University of Copenhagen. 

PhD thesis: "Differential effects on water and nitrogen uptake from deep soil layers by increasing crop rooting depth: Case studies on chicory and oilseed rape" 

Guanying worked on synchronization and synlocation of water and nitrogen uptake from deep soil layers in root towers. She conducted her research in the root towers at Højbakkegård using:

• TDR (time-domain reflectometer) sensors
• Photo boxes
• Water tracers
• Nitrogen tracers.

To know more about resource uptake in deep soil, Guanying used isotope (15N, 18O or 2H) to study root growth and resource uptake (water and nitrogen) from deep soil layers at a depth of 1-5 meters.

Guanying worked on:

1. Quantifying potential use of resources from different deep soil layers by chicory and assessing the potential environmental improvements in terms of nutrient cycling
2. Figuring out the uptake dynamics of water and nitrogen in the whole growing seasons of chicory and defining the relationship between the root growth and resource uptake as well as the development of shoot.

Guanying commenced her Ph.D. on February 2^nd 2018 and is expected to finish in July 2021.