Jean-Thomas Cornelis

University of British Columbia (EOAS Department, PCIGR) and UCLouvain (Earth and Life Institute), 2011, FNRS Post Doctoral Fellowship

UCLouvain (Earth and Life Institute), 2010, PhD, Soil Science

UCLouvain (Faculty of Biological, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering), 2006, MSc, Environmental Sciences and Technology

UCLouvain (Faculty of Biological, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering), 2003, BSc, Bio-engineering

My research program is directed towards studying feedbacks between soil processes and biogeochemical cycling of elements in terrestrial environments affected by natural and anthropogenic-induced changes. My process-based approach focus on the soil system, which by nature, integrates processes at different scales and from different disciplines. My current research projects, centered on pedology, go from soil biogeochemical processes, soil-plant feedback interactions and biogeochemical cycling of elements under various pedological, biotic, climatic and geological conditions to more diverse interests by collaborating with research teams in applied geochemistry, functional ecology, plant physiology and soil microbial processes. My primary research objective is to apply the knowledge of soil science for the purpose of suggesting sustainable management of ecosystems: increasing the resistance and resilience of soil-plant systems while decreasing human-induced pressures on the environment.

For more information on the research carried out in our SoilRES3 Lab, please visit the Soils and Biogeochemistry – SoilRes3 Lab website.

Please visit Dr. Cornelis’ Google Scholar page for a full list of publications

Here is a snapshot view of my recent research work:

De Tombeur, F., Turner, B., Laliberté, E., Lambers, H., Mahy, G., Faucon, M-P., Zemunik, G., Cornelis, J-T. (2020) Plants sustain the terrestrial silicon cycle during ecosystem retrogression. Science 369, 1245-1248

Burgeon, V., Fouche, J., Leifeld, J., Chenu, C., Cornelis, J-T. (2020) Organo-mineral associations largely contribute to the stabilization of century-old pyrogenic organic matter in cropland soils. Geoderma, in press

Hardy, B., Sleutel, S., Dufey, J., Cornelis, J-T. (2019) The long-term effect of biochar on soil microbial abundance, activity and community structure is overwritten by land management. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 7, 110

Cornelis, J-T., & Delvaux, B. (2016). Soil processes drive the biological silicon feedback loop. Functional Ecology, 30, 1298-1310.

Cornelis, J-T., Weis, D., Lavkulich, L., Vermeire, M.-L., Barling, J., Delvaux, B., Barling, J. (2014). Silicon isotopes record dissolution and re-precipitation of pedogenic clay minerals in a podzolic soil chronosequence. Geoderma, 235-236, 19-29.

Cornelis, J-T., Delvaux, B., Georg, B., Lucas, Y., Ranger, J., & Opfergelt, S. (2011). Tracing the origin of dissolved silicon transferred from various soil-plant systems towards rivers: a review. Biogeosciences, 8, 89-112.

Cornelis, J-T., Delvaux, B., Ranger, J., & Iserentant, A. (2010). Tree species impact the terrestrial cycle of silicon through various uptakes. Biogeochemistry, 97, 231-245.

WERNAERS-FNRS prize (Belgium) - creativity and innovation in communication of scientific knowledge and training.