Ecology of Plant Volatiles, from Molecules to the Globe (EuroVOL)

An ESF/EUROCORES programme is a thematic programme within which so-called Collaborative Research Projects (CRPs) can be submitted. Each CRP consists of several IPs (Individual Projects), devised by researchers (PIs; Principal Investigators) from different countries. The IPs can be funded by the relevant national research funding agencies participating in EUROCORES, as long as the entire project (CRP) gains sufficiently high priority from ESF. NWO is the funding agency for the Netherlands; for the area of Earth and Life Sciences that is NWO-ALW. See also: www.esf.org/eurocores

In this EUROCORES programme funding agencies from the following 17 countries are working together: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

The EuroVOL EUROCORES programme is targeted at “biogenic volatile organic compounds” (BVOC), which are emitted by vegetation. The scientific objectives of the programme are:

1. to elucidate internal (molecular, genetic, biochemical, phenological) control of (constitutive and induced) BVOC synthesis and emission;
2. to provide detailed knowledge on the abiotic and biotic (external) controls of BVOC emission;
3. to enhance mechanistic understanding of BVOC functional roles (e.g. priming, signalling) in plants coping with stresses;
4. (to characterize the cross-talk of BVOC formation with other key biochemical pathways of synthesis of non-volatile compounds involved in stress response/defence (costs / benefits);
5. to understand the impact of climate change on BVOC-mediated interactions of plants with biotic and abiotic stresses, and the associated consequences on plant defence mechanisms;
6. to understand how plants communicate within the trophic web (induced emissions), also, consequentially,
7. to unravel evolutionary mechanisms that shape the ecological and behavioural features of natural enemies of plants and herbivores and the overall community structure;
8. to control target pest species that damage plants (task also including other applications; e.g. BVOCs as stress indicators); and
9. to estimate regional and global BVOC emission patterns in past, present and projected future climates, also assessing consequences of vegetation distribution (land use change) on BVOC spectrum/load, and feedbacks on ecosystem functions and services.

Who can apply

Professors, senior lecturers and lecturers or researchers with a comparable position who work within the earth and life sciences and who are employed by a Dutch university or by a research institute recognised by NWO (see Articles 2.1 and 2.2 General Terms and Conditions of NWO Grants).

Researchers from abroad may apply

What can be applied for

Personnel costs
For the salary costs the VSNU contract in the context of overlaten werkgeverschap onderzoeksinstellingen applies. For the Dutch Individual Project a grant can be requested for a PhD student (4 years full time, per 1 July 2009: € 205,013) or a postdoc researcher (maximum 3 years full time, per 1 July 2009: € 201,635). These amounts include a bench fee of € 5000 for individual costs for the purposes of the research of the PhD student or postdoc researcher (e.g. costs of the thesis, congress visits, etc.).

Network and material costs
For material costs (consumables, fieldwork, travel costs) a maximum of € 50,000 can be requested for a PhD project for the entire funding period and a maximum of € 40,000 for a postdoc project for the entire funding period. These amounts include a budget of maximum € 5000 for the entire funding period for travel and accommodation costs with respect to the networking activities within the Collaborative Research Project (CRP) that the Individual Project falls under. ESF shall invoice NWO-ALW for € 27,300 to cover the network costs for the entire EuroVOL programme; these costs do not need to be included by the applicant in his/her application.

A budget to cover equipment costs cannot be requested under the EuroVOL grant.

When can be applied

• Closing date for submitting preliminary proposals was 26 March 2010, 12:00 hrs.

Extra Information

Unless stated otherwise here, the criteria for this EUROCORES programme are the same as those for the ALW Open Programme. These guidelines can be found at Open Programme of ALW.

A further requirement of this EUROCORES programme is that a Dutch applicant (PI) may submit a maximum of one Individual Project. In addition to this, Dutch researchers are free to participate as an Associated Partner (AP) in one or more Collaborative Research Projects (CRPs): NWO-ALW does not, however, provide any funding for such participations.

Proposals can only be submitted to ESF, according to the instructions on the ESF website (www.esf.org/eurovol) and on the form issued by ESF.

NWO-ALW is participating in EuroVOL with a maximum of three Individual Projects (IPs). The Dutch part of the awarded EuroVOL projects (CRPs) can only be funded by NWO-ALW if the other national funding agencies involved in this project (CRP) also fund their national Individual Projects (IPs).

Procedure

ESF is responsible for the review process. Eventually the ALW Divisional Board shall decide which proposals (IPs) shall be allocated funding. This decision shall be based on the ranking established by ESF.

Further information about ESF’s review process can be found at www.esf.org/eurovol.

Financiers

The Dutch contribution to this programme is funded by the NWO Division for Earth and Life Sciences.

Contacts

• Drs. M. Los
  phone: +31 (0)70 344 05 08, fax: +31 (0)70 381 90 33, e-mail: m.los@nwo.nl

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