Public thesis defense of Joachim Lopez: "Disentangling drivers of leaf litter decomposition using a synthetic community approach"

Summary

Tree species as ecosystem engineers: shaping decomposition and carbon storage in forest soils.

Forest soils store vast amounts of carbon, but the pathways leading to this storage are strongly influenced by the trees growing above them. In this PhD, I explored how tree species and forest composition affect leaf litter decomposition, above-belowground interactions and topsoil carbon stocks.

By studying mature forest communities from around the world growing under the same climate and soil conditions in the Arboretum of Tervuren, I showed that tree species create distinct decomposition environments through their litter, canopy structure and effects on the local environment. These differences influence how nutrients are recycled and where carbon is stored in the soil.

The results highlight that tree species identity and functional traits are key drivers of forest ecosystem functioning and should be considered in climate-smart forestry and future forest design.

Jury members

Prof. Quentin Ponette (UCLouvain) (Supervisor)
Prof. Bart Muys (KULeuven) (Supervisor)
Prof. Karen Vancampenhout (KULeuven) (Supervisor)
Prof. Frédéric Gaspart (UCLouvain) (Chairperson)
Prof. Yannick Agnan (UCLouvain) (Secretary)
Prof. Olivier Honnay (KULeuven)
Prof. Laurent Augusto (INRAE)