My current project is aiming to better understand the effect of habitat connectivity on microbial community and their dispersal at different spatial scales: from landscape scale to the smaller scale of plant community, root rhizosphere and endosphere. I also try to understand what the role of an ecological corridor plays for their associated microorganisms and why; and based on this theoretical framework, we will figure out how ecological corridors can be implemented in agro systems. 

I am also interested in investigating the assembly processes of the rhizosphere microbiome, and how rhizosphere communities assemble in growing plants, starting from a sterile seedling until a mature plant, providing the base for informed bio-engineering strategies to optimize the functionality of the rhizosphere microbiome serve for plant health and sustainable agriculture.

The work I conducted during my Ph.D. seeks to deepen our understanding of the rhizosphere microbiome from an ecological perspective, building on the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning framework to lay the ecological foundation upon which future microbial strategies for improved plant growth and protection can be built for more sustainable agriculture. 

Keywords: Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning, Microbial Community,  Metacommunity,  Sustainable Agriculture