Franciska De Vries

Overview

At the core of my research are the organisms that live in the soil, such as fungi, bacteria, nematodes, mites, and many, many more barely visible creatures of which most people don''t know that they exist. All these organisms work together to break down organic matter and release nutrients for plant growth, which is not only important for conserving our ecosystems, but also for producing our food. However, climate change, land use change, agricultural practices, and the loss and gain of plant species all threaten the diversity and functioning of these organisms, with direct consequences for the capacity of soils to feed us, but also for the diversity of aboveground organisms, and the conservation of ecosystems. Through my research, I want to find out how these human-induced disturbances affect communities of soil organisms, and how we can protect those to conserve our ecosystems, and to make agriculture more sustainable.

Biography

2015-present

BBSRC David Phillips Fellow in Soil and Ecosystem Ecology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

July 2014-January 2015

Maternity leave

2013-2015    

Faculty Fellow in Soil and Ecosystem Ecology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

2012-2013           

Senior Research Associate within EU-funded Ecofinders project in the Soil and Ecosystem Ecology group, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, United Kingdom.

2009- 2012          

Research Associate within EU-funded project SOILSERVICE in the Soil and Ecosystem Ecology group, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, United Kingdom.

2009      

PhD Soil Biology at the Department of Soil Quality (Wageningen University) and Alterra, Wageningen UR, Wageningen, the Netherlands (0.8 fte).

2003      

BSc and MSc Environmental Sciences with specialisations Soil Biology and Nature Conservation. Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.

External responsibilities:

• Member of the BBSRC Pool of Experts
• Member of the International Scientific Committee for the Second Global Soil Biodiversity Conference , China, 2017
• Member of the Editorial Board of Oxford Bibliographies Online Ecology
• Trustee of the Ecological Continuity Trust
• Member of the Editorial Board of Ecosystems
• Associate Editor of the Journal of Ecology
• Founder and past secretary of the Special Interest Group Plants, Soils, Ecosystems of the British Ecological Society
• Member of the Review College of the British Ecological Society