Curriculum Vitae
Note: Since August 2007 I work at the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Unversity of Tennessee / Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
My new website: http://www.esd.ornl.gov/~5pz/
I graduated in 2000 at the University of Utrecht (Biology) with specializations in landscape ecology (leerstoelgroep Landschapsecologie) and animal ecology (department of Animal Population Biology, NIOO-CTE). Subsequently I was employed at the consultancy firm Royal Haskoning in ‘s-Hertogenbosch where I focused on hydro-ecological aspects. In 2002 I worked for half a year at the waste water treatment authority Hollandse Eilanden & Waarden (hydrobiological lab in Rotterdam) where I was involved in monitoring vegetation and macrofauna in fresh water systems. In November 2002 I started as a PhD student at the MTI department in Heteren. The study was part of the TRIAS project 'Soils in transition: patterns and processes in soil ecosystems during the restoration of natural ecosystems on former agricultural land'. My PhD research focused on fundamental and applied aspects of plant and soil community assembly. On 25 May 2007 I defended my PhD thesis at Wageningen University.
Projects
Soils in transition: patterns and processes in soil ecosystems during the restoration of natural ecosystems on former agricultural land
Restoration of former agricultural fields towards more natural and species rich ecosystems is one of the major land conversion activities in industrialised countries. During the transition of a high-input system towards a more stable low-input system, a gradual shift from bacterial to fungal dominated decomposition is expected. Theory also predicts increased food web complexity, which will influence density and diversity of root herbivores and pathogens. However, many uncertainties on the role of soil organisms in processes, such as decomposition and rate of nutrient turnover during succession, as well as their interactions with each other and their effects on successional shifts in vegetation, still remain. The main objective of our study is to provide fundamental knowledge on belowground processes and trophic interactions in relation to vegetation succession. We will analyse the development of soil communities during the transition process and we will examine the effects of management strategies (introducing plant species, soil organisms and top soil removal) on changes in soil food web and ecosystem processes, leading to practical applications for enhancing succession. A major focus will be on the strength of top-down control of root herbivores (nematodes and microarthropods) and pathogens and their relative impact on vegetation development during secondary succession in comparison to the role of the decomposer subsystem. We test the hypothesis that affecting the soil community will enhance rate and direction of vegetation succession towards the target type. The study includes a chronosequence as well as an experimental approach.
Co-Operation
Selected Publications
Kardol, P., M.A. Cregger, C.E. Campany & A.T. Classen (2009). Soil ecosystem functioning under climate change: plant species and community effects. Ecology, in press.
Kardol, P., J.S. Newton, T.M. Bezemer, M. Maraun & W.H. van der Putten (2009). Contrasting diversity patterns for soil mites and nematodes in secondary succession. Acta Oecologia, in press
Kardol, P., T. M. Bezemer & W.H. van der Putten (2009). Complementary effects of soil organism and plant propagule introductions in restoration of species-rich grassland communities. Restoration Ecology 17: 258-269
Kardol, P., A. van der Wal, A., T.M. Bezemer, H. Duyts & W.H. van der Putten (2008). Seed addition outweighs soil fertility reduction measures in plant community development during ecosystem restoration on ex-arable land. Biological Conservation 141: 2208-2217.
Holtkamp, R., P. Kardol, A. van der Wal, S.C. Dekker, W.H. van der Putten & P.C. de Ruiter (2008). Soil food web structure during ecosystem development after land abandoment. Applied Soil Ecology 39 (1): 23-34.
Kardol, P., N.J. Cornips, M.M.L. van Kempen, J.M.T. Bakx-Schotman & W.H. van der Putten (2007). Microbe-mediated plant-soil feedback in pioneer stages of secondary succession causes long-lasting historical contingency effects in plant community composition. Ecological Monographs 77(2): 147-162.
Kardol, P., T.M. Bezemer & W.H. van der Putten (2006). Temporal variation in plant-soil feedback controls succession. Ecology Letters 9: 1080-1088.
Van der Wal, A., J.A. van Veen, W. Smant, H.T.S. Boschker, J. Bloem, P. Kardol, W.H. van der Putten & W. de Boer (2006). Fungal biomass development in a chronosequence of land abandonment. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 38: 51-60.
Kardol, P., T.M. Bezemer, A. van der Wal & W.H. van der Putten (2005). Successional trajectories of soil nematode and plant communities in a chronosequence of ex-arable land. Biological Conservation 126: 317-327.
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