Soil Fauna and Natural Ecosystem Dynamics

What spurs me on is the question what determines the diversity and composition of soil fauna communities. I am especially interested in the interplay between species-specific traits and spatial scales in determining shifts in community composition under environmental stress. I study which functional traits underlay changes in species composition, from the micro-scale (m²) to the macro-scale (among biomes). I also study how changes in species composition (via response traits) affect important soil processes (via effect traits), such as litter decomposition.

My aim is to integrate ecological and evolutionary concepts into community ecology by using inter- and intraspecific variation in species traits, including life history traits and tolerance traits (micro-scale) and dispersal traits (meta- to macro-scale), to understand the impact of environmental changes on local community composition and functioning. My main focus is on ecosystem engineers and the effect of non-trophic interactions on ecosystem dynamics.

My research emphasizes a mechanistic approach, linking species functional traits to community composition and functioning. I use a variety of study systems, including green beach, salt marsh, and sub-arctic tundra, as well as a variety of model organisms, including ecosystem engineers such as Amphipoda, Collembola and terrestrial Isopoda.