My research interests are focussed on the effects of land use and climate change on soil biodiversity, and subsequently on the effects of changes in soil biodiversity on ecosystem processes. I am particularly interested in how plants and soil microbial communities interact under these changing circumstances, and how this influences ecosystem processes like nutrient and carbon cycling. The main questions I am asking are:
How do land use and climate change induced changes in soil communities affect their functioning?
How does the response of plants to climate change impact on the response of soil organisms to climate change, and what are the implications for ecosystem functioning?
What are the fundamental controls on the stability of soil communities and their functioning?
How can we use knowledge on the stability and functioning of plants and soil organisms to make agriculture more sustainable?
Frantecologist 