Ruud Rijkers

Ruud Rijkers

r.rijkers@vu.nl

Arctic ecosystems are amongst the most sensitive ecosystems to current and future climate change. Artic soils are turning from a carbon sink into a carbon source, due to increased microbial respiration and thaw of permafrost layers. My research focusses on the microbial response to increasing temperatures in Arctic soils. During my PhD, I will explore the shifts in community composition and functioning that result from increasing soil temperatures. This will lead to an investigation of the impact this has on the carbon cycle in these changing environments using modelling approaches. This research will contribute to our understanding of the global carbon feedback expected from rapidly warming Arctic soils.