Droevendaalsesteeg 10
6708 PB Wageningen
The Netherlands
Social
About
Soil organisms and their interactions are at the hearth of terrestrial ecosystems, wheather natural or managed. My goal is to understand how carbon inputs and land management shape soil biodiversity and its role in sustaining ecosystem functioning.
Biography
I obtained my M.Sc. in molecular biology at Universitry of Padova in 2014, with a thesis on the functional and molecular traits of plant growth-promiting endophytic bacteria of grapevine.
My interest in the propertries of the soil microbiome brought me to the Netherlands (2016). In my Ph.D. I investigated how woody amendments stimulate saprotrophic fungi in arable soils, steering microbial interactions and soil functioning. In particular, I focused on how fungi can improve the suppression of soil-borne diseases and the retation of nitrogen in the plant-soil system.
As part of the SOILGUARD H2020 project at the University of Amsterdam, I further deepened my interest in the soil biome. I contributed to a multi-organism soil biodiversity dataset, and used co-occurrence network analysis to study the responses of the soil biome to land-use intensity and climate stressors.
Research Expertise
Carbon Disease ecology Fungal biomass Land use Network analysis Soil-borne fungal pathogens WoodCV
Employment
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PresentPostdoctoral researcher Soil carbon and fauna, TE, NIOO-KNAW
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2022–2025Postdoctoral researcher Soil food web ecology (SOILGUARD), IBED, UvA
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2021Postdoctoral researcher, ME, NIOO-KNAW
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2016–2020Ph.D. candidate Microbial ecology (SAPRO-FEED), ME, NIOO-KNAW
Education
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2012–2014M.Sc. Molecular biology, University of Padova
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2009–2012B.Sc. Molecular biology, University of Padova
Publications
Key publications
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Utilizing woody materials for fungal-based management of soil nitrogen pools
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Stimulated saprotrophic fungi in arable soil extend their activity to the rhizosphere and root microbiomes of crop seedlings
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Impact of Cellulose-Rich Organic Soil Amendments on Growth Dynamics and Pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia solani
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Evaluation of phenolic acids as stimulants of saprotrophic fungi in the rhizosphere.
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The hidden potential of saprotrophic fungi in arable soil: Patterns of short-term stimulation by organic amendments.
Projects & collaborations
Projects
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Sapro-Feed: Increasing Crop Health by Stimulating Saprotrophic Fungi
The aim of the Saprofeed project was to enhance natural biocontrol of root-infecting pathogenic fungi in arable soils via stimulation of the growth of saprotrophic fungi (growing on dead organic materials). The basic idea, indicated in the picture, is that stimulation of saprotrophic fungi will lead to direct or indirect (via bacteria) competitive suppression of root-infecting pathogens.