INRA Centre de Bordeaux Aquitaine

71 avenue E. Bourlaux

CS 20032 33882 Villenave d'Ornon cedex

altinkond@gmail.com  

Parcours

I am an M.Sc. graduate of the Organic Agriculture program, at Wageningen University and Research, where I specialized in Agroecology, and gained knowledge on the analysis, evaluation and design of agroecological farming systems. I conducted my M.Sc. Thesis on Plant-soil interactions, where I studied the effect of plant domestication and agricultural soil (conventional vs. organic agriculture) on the level of root length colonization with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, and on the plant Specific Root Length. Also, I worked as a student research assistant at the Soil Biology Lab, and participated in the measurement of soil organic matter decomposition rates with tea bags. I performed an internship at Louis Bolk institute, and participated at the AGFORWARD project, which is a European project that aims to stimulate agroforestry practices in Europe. I am currently conducting my PhD at INRA, at the Soil Plant Atmosphere research unit, with a focus on litter decomposition (roots and leaves).

Recherches et compétences

I am interested in plant-soil interactions, with a focus on forests. I am experienced with the microscopic identification of mycorrhizal fungi and root scanning via WinRHIZO^TM software. I have some research experience on agroforestry projects (tree aboveground litter effect on soil) and soil organic matter decomposition projects.

Projets en cours 

DiPTiCC project (Diversity and Productivity of Trees in the context of Climate Change).

Considering how climate change is a pressing global matter, it is critical to rethink forest management, with the aim to ever-increase carbon sequestration, while supporting the lumber industry. The main objective of the project is to quantify the effect of tree species diversity on the temporal stability of forest productivity, tackling the resistance and resilience of mixed forests to extreme climate events. Another major goal is to provide a better understanding of ecological mechanisms at work. In particular, I am working on litter decomposition, and I try to address whether litter decomposition (of roots and leaves) provides a linkage between tree growth and above/below ground ecosystem processes.  The project will rely on two existing experimental platforms where tree species diversity and microclimate conditions (temperature and drought) are both controlled.

• In the ORPHEE experiment (Aquitaine), 25,600 trees belonging to five native species have been planted to provide eight replicates of the 31 possible combinations of 1 to 5 species. Four out of the eight blocks are nightly sprayed with water during the growing season, thus avoiding any soil drought.
• The BIOPROFOR experiment consists of six elevational gradients in the Alps where beech, fir and oak, both in pure and mixed stands, are present at three elevation steps.