Janna Barel

Post-doctoral researcher (CNRS)

Email : janna.barelDear bot, you won't get my mail address@and my domain...univ-tlse3.fr

The soil is full of life. Beneath our feet microscopic organisms perform all sorts of tasks. As a soil ecologist I am interested in understanding how soil communities function, how they respond to changes in their environment and how plants and soil organisms interact. As post-doc in the MixoPeat project I quantify the changes in the structure and function of microbial food webs associated to Sphagnum (peat moss) in response to change in climatic conditions.

CV / functions

Work experience

January 2020 – present Post-doctoral researcher (CNRS) – MixoPEAT.
Laboratoire écologie fonctionelle et environment, University Paul Sabatier III, Toulouse (France)
March 2019 – November 2019 Post-doctoral researcher – Biological indicators soil quality.
Wageningen University – Soil Biology Group, Wageningen, The Netherlands and secondment to Centre for Soil Ecology, Wageningen (The Netherlands)
Aug 2018 – Jan 2019 Post-doctoral researcher – Plant-soil interactions
Wageningen University – Soil Biology Group, Wageningen (The Netherlands)

Education

2013 – 2018 PhD thesis on plant-soil interactions
Wageningen University – Soil Biology Group, Wageningen (The Netherlands)
“A plant’s inheritance: soil legacy effects of crops and wild relatives in relation to plant functional traits” , DOI: 10.18174/455078
2010 – 2012 MSc Biology, specialisation Bio-interactions
Wageningen University, Wageningen (The Netherlands)
2006 – 2011 BSc Biology, specialisation Ecology
Wageningen University, Wageningen (The Netherlands)

Research

As a soil ecologist, I am intrigued by biological interactions in the soil, and between plants and soil biota. Who influences who? And what are the consequences of their interactions for soil functioning?

Food web ecology

Soil communities encompass complex networks of feeding relationships between soil organisms. Presence of an organism, its feeding preferences and abundance shape the structure and functioning of the food web. However, the changes in climatic conditions such as temperature and precipitation act on individual species. I investigate what the consequences of species level responses are for food web structure and functioning.

Carbon cycling & decomposition

Soil food webs recycle carbon-rich organic matter. The efficiency with which organisms use that carbon influences how much carbon is released into the atmosphere. Organic carbon can enter the soil food web directly from living organisms, such as plants and autotrophic microbes, or as dead biomass, for example plant litter. Microbial breakdown of litter is driven by its chemical composition, the functional capacity of the decomposers and environmental conditions. I am interested in understanding how local adaptation of the decomposers (home-field advantage) and influence of living plants (priming) alters the speed and efficiency of litter decomposition.

Publications

Barel, JM, Moulia, V., Hamard, S., Sytiuk, A. & Jassey, VEJ (2021) Come Rain, Come Shine: Peatland Carbon Dynamics Shift Under Extreme Precipitation. Front. Environ. Sci. 9, 1 (2021). doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2021.659953

Sytiuk, A, Céréghino, R., Hamard S, Delarue F, Guittet A, Barel JM, Dorrepaal E. Küttim M, Lamentowicz M, Pourrut B, Robroek BJM, Tuittila E, Jassey VEJ (in press) Predicting the structure and functions of peatland microbial communities from Sphagnum phylogeny, anatomical and morphological traits and metabolites. Journal of Ecology. n/a. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13728

Barel JM, Kuyper TW, Paul J, de Boer W, Cornelissen JHC, De Deyn GB (2019) Winter cover crop legacy effects on litter decomposition act through litter quality and microbial community changes. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 132-143. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13261.

Barel JM, Kuyper TW, De Boer W, De Deyn GB (2019) Plant presence reduces root and shoot litter decomposition rates of crops and wild relatives. Plant and Soil 438: 313-327, 1-15. doi: 10.1007/s11104-019-03981-7.

Barel JM, Kuyper TW, de Boer W, Douma JC, De Deyn GB (2018) Legacy effects of diversity in space and time driven by winter cover crop biomass and nitrogen concentration. Journal of Applied Ecology 55: 299-310. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12929.

Saar S, Semchenko M, Barel JM, De Deyn GB (2018) Spatial heterogeneity in root litter and soil legacies differentially affect legume root traits. Plant and Soil 428: 253-264. doi: 10.1007/s11104-018-3667-9.

van der Meij B, Kooistra L, Suomalainen J, Barel JM, De Deyn GB (2017) Remote sensing of plant trait responses to field-based plant–soil feedback using UAV-based optical sensors. Biogeosciences 14: 733-749. doi: 10.5194/bg-14-733-2017.

Saar S, Semchenko M, Barel JM, De Deyn GB (2016) Legume presence reduces the decomposition rate of non-legume roots. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 94: 88-93. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.11.026.

Projects

MIXOPEAT

MIXOPEAT uses a combination of mathematical models, lab and field experiments to figure out how mixotrophic protists change the dynamics of carbon in peatlands and understand what climatic pressures lead to the evolution and/or loss of these organisms. Want to know how we do it? Check the website: https://www.mixopeat.cnrs.fr/

BioSIS

Soil biota are fundamental for soil functioning. They perform a multitude of processes and thereby contribute to Water regulation, Nutrient cycling, Carbon sequestration and climate regulation, and Disease and pest management. Soils differ in their capacity to deliver these functions. In the BioSIS project we develop a framework and collaboration platform for method selection and development, in other words a BIOlogical Soil Information System. In this project, I collaborate with the Soil Biology Group at Wageningen University. www.biosisplatform.eu

Network

I am a member of:

British Ecological Society: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/
Netherlands Ecological Research Network: https://www.nern.nl/

Find me online:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JannaBarel
Publons: https://publons.com/researcher/1654573/janna-barel/
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Janna_Barel
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmbarel/

Janna Barel

Rechercher