Dr. Virna Moran-Rodas
Research interests
• Soil ecology, soil biodiversity and the effect of soil organisms on carbon and nutrient cycling• Sustainable agriculture and management effects on the soil community
• Soil functions and ecosystem services in agroforestry systems
• Molecular biology and bioinformatics for soil biodiversity studies
Project
• Management effects on soil microorganisms of rural-urban interfaces in Bengaluru, India• Soil micro- and mesofauna communities in agroforestry systems in Germany
Curriculum vitae
| 2018-2021 | PhD student at the department of Soil Biology and Plant Nutrition, faculty of organic agriculture, University of Kassel, Witzenhausen. Project: “Management effects on soil microorganisms of rural-urban Interfaces |
| 2015-2018 | International Master Program (M.Sc.) in Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation (LENC) (scholarship holder), University of Greifswald. Master thesis: “Influence of vegetation and land use on functional soil conditions and soil erosion in the coastal plain of El Salvador” |
| 2013-2014 | Researcher and environmental consultant, UDP Ciencias Neotropicales, El Salvador. |
| 2013 | Fellow in the project: “Wildlife diversity loss and the emergence of tick-borne diseases”, Wageningen University and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama |
| 2007-2012 | Bachelor’s degree in Biology, University of El Salvador |
Publications
Moran-Rodas VE, Joergensen RG, Wachendorf C (2023): Does liming improve microbial carbon use efficiency after maize litter addition in a tropical acidic soil? Biology and Fertility of Soils doi:10.1007/s00374-023-01722-8Vaupel A, Bednar Z, Herwig N, Hommel B, Moran-Rodas VE, Beule L (2023): Tree‑distance and tree‑species efects on soil biota in a temperate agroforestry system. Plant Soil doi:10.1007/s11104-023-05932-9
Moran-Rodas VE, Preusse V, Wachendorf C (2022): Agricultural Management Practices and Decision-Making in View of Soil Organic Matter in the Urbanizing Region of Bangalore. Sustainability 14(10):5775 doi:10.3390/su14105775
Beule L, Vaupel A, Moran-Rodas VE (2022): Abundance, Diversity, and Function of Soil Microorganisms in Temperate Alley-Cropping Agroforestry Systems: A Review. Microorganisms 10(3), doi:10.3390/microorganisms10030616
Moran-Rodas V, Chavannavar SV, Joergensen RG, Wachendorf C (2022): Microbial response of distinct soil types to land-use intensification at a South-Indian rural-urban interface. Plant and Soil, doi:10.1007/s11104-021-05292-2