About My Research

I am a soil ecologist focusing my research on soil organisms and soil functioning in agricultural areas. I am mostly interested at the impacts of various cropping practices on the taxonomic and functional diversity of soil macro-, meso- and microorganisms, as well as on soil processes such as litter decomposition. Although I study all groups of soil organisms, my previous research focused in greater detail on Collembola.

All of this started during my studies at AgroParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology for life, Food and Environmental Sciences) and at the Paris-Saclay University in France. In 2019, I graduated with a master degree in environmental/agricultural engineering and a master degree on global issues linked to climate, land-use and ecosystem services. My studies gave me the opportunity to take part to research projects in several laboratory. Among other experiences, I briefly participated to a study on the impact and management of an invasive ant species in an Australian rainforest with the CSIRO (Darwin, Australia). Then, I conducted my master’s research project within the ECOSYS research unit at INRAE-AgroParisTech (Paris, France), focusing on the influence of tillage on soil mesofauna in wheat fields.

In the following years, I completed a doctorate on soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in alternative cropping systems. This PhD project was investigating the influence of cropping systems under conventional, conservation or organic agriculture, either long-established or in transition, on soil organisms (macrofauna, mesofauna and microorganisms) and soil processes (litter decomposition, mineralisation and soil aggregate stability). In order to improve our understanding of the effects of cropping systems on soil biodiversity, it aimed to characterize cropping systems and soil communities in more details. Thus, cropping systems were defined using indicators of practice intensity, and soil communities using taxonomic identifications, ecological groups and functional traits.

Since November 2023, I am a postdoc at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where I am currently investigating soil foodwebs in sugarcane cropping systems.

Current research

My current research is focusing on the diversity of soil organisms and soil foodwebs in sugarcane fields in Southern Africa.

Despite their significant contribution to the overall biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, soil organisms are poorly studied in sugarcane fields, especially in Southern Africa. It is crucial to further our understanding of soil biodiversity in order to promote systems relying on good soil quality and preventing further soil degradation.

To this aim, we sampled soil organisms in sugarcane estates located in Zambia, Malawi and Eswatini. Back to the laboratory, we are using a combination of taxonomic, molecular and stable isotope tools to assess soil biodiversity in sugarcane fields subjected to different management (conventional versus regenerative agriculture) and harvesting (green cane versus field burning) practices. The first objective is to assess soil fauna density and diversity in fields with various managements. This will contribute to develop a rapid assessment for long-term monitoring of soil biological quality in sugarcane fields. The second objective is to study the trophic functional diversity of soil communities in sugarcane cropping systems. Determination of C and N stable isotope ratios will be used to determine the characteristics of trophic niches of the most abundant soil fauna groups. This will shed light on the trophic functional diversity of decomposers and predator-prey relationships in soil under sugarcane cultivation, and help to inform on how to promote natural predators.

Overall, my current project rely on novel methods to further understanding of the composition and resilience of soil biodiversity in agroecosystems while providing information on soil organisms that are still understudied in Southern Africa.

In parallel, I am taking part to the organization of the ICSZ & ICA conference* that will be held in Cape Town in August 2024 (www.icsz2024.org). I also help with the supervision of students and volunteers in the laboratory.