Nadia Maaroufi

My research is based on a fundamental understanding of ecosystem processes, aboveground and belowground communities, and their interactions particularly in grassland and forest ecosystems. Understanding these interactions are essential to better assess and predict how global change drivers affect ecosystem functions and services such as nutrient cycling and net primary productivity.

To accomplish this, I combine several disciplines, including ecosystem ecology, community ecology, ecological stoichiometry and global change biology. Working at the interface of different disciplines allow me to get a better understanding on how organisms and ecosystems respond to global change drivers such as anthropogenic nitrogen deposition, biodiversity loss and biological invaders. Finally, I aim to use this new knowledge about terrestrial ecosystem functioning and global change to inform the large public and decision makers.

Course leader of the PhD course: Introduction to Soil science: Theory, Concept and Applications.

I am also teaching at the bachelor and master levels the following topics: Sustainable land-use practices, Global change ecology, Soil ecology, good practices for green infrastructures, Plant-soil interactions. 

2022-present Importance of plant-soil interactions in urban ecology: potential to promote sustainable cities. 
In collaboration with Lena Neunkamp (Uni. Münster, DE)

2021-2023 Belowground biodiversity of grasslands – conservation needs and potential to promote sustainable agriculture. FORMAS (co-PI)
(PI: Karina Clemmensen, SLU)

2019-2023 Land-use intensification alters ecosystem functions in grasslands: insights from the soil fungal community. FORMAS (PI)

2019-2022 Impact of global change on phyllosphere microbiomes in grasslands. SNF (PI)

2017- 2019 The effect of ecosystem engineers on soil functioning in agricultural and forest habitats

I am currently responsible to the long-field trials focusing on plant nutrition and soil fertility.

I am involded in the:
AgroMixNorth project: Climate-smart resilience through diversified cropping systems - Identifying springboards in Nordic and Baltic agriculture led by Prof. Anke Herrmann (2023-2027).

2024 MBA in Sustainability and Management
SUMAS Business School, Gland, Switzerland.

2024 Associate professorship - Docent
Global change alters ecosystem functions: insights from the biodiversity under our feet.
Dpt. of Soil and Environment, SLU, Uppsala.

2016 Ph.D. in Biology
The effect of simulated anthropogenic nitrogen deposition on the net carbon balance of boreal soils.
Dpt. of Forest Ecology and Management, SLU, Umeå.

2011 M.Sc. in Biology, Ecology for Forest, Agronomy and Environment. Specializing in ecosystems functioning & management.
University of Lorraine, Metz-Nancy, FR.

2009 B.Sc. in Biology. Specializing in Biology of Organisms and Ecosystems.
University of Lorraine, Nancy, FR.

PhD level

Bradley Sparkes, Dept. of Soil and Environment. SLU, Uppsala, SE
Diversified cropping systems: Synergies and trade-offs of soil carbon and nitrogen cycling. Co-supervisor

Lena Reifschneider, Dept. of Forest Ecology and Management. SLU, Umeå, SE
Quantification and characterization of soil carbon dynamics in managed boreal forests. Co-supervisor

Previous supervision

2024 Vestine Mukamparirwa. Potential of organic inputs from agroforestry tree biomass to improve soil nutrient content in two contrasting regions of Rwanda. Co-supervisor
2024 Thu Zar Nwe. Direct and indirect effects of nitrogen addition on soil fauna and soil functioning in grasslands. Co-supervisor
2023 Kaisa Torppa. Interactions between earthworms, nematodes and AM fungi and their role in the functioning of agricultural soils. Co-supervisor
2023 Yikang Chen. Effects of nitrogen addition on plant and root-associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities and their underlying mechanisms in an alpine meadow. Co-supervisor

Master level

2022 Joseph Volery. Direct and indirect effects of nitrogen addition on keystone species in grasslands. Co-supervisor

Bachelor level

2023 Kris Hebeisen. Root Colonization Measurements of Beneficial Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Dark Septate Endophytes.
2022 Alice Lavarenne. Legacy effects of ley diversity on germination rate and growth of cereal crops.
2022 Lisa Gurtner. Effects of nitrogen addition on soil nematodes in grasslands.
2021 Sina Aregger. Impacts of plant diversity loss on soil nematodes in grasslands. 
2020 Vanessa Fricker. Impacts of nitrogen addition and plant diversity on soil fauna in grassland ecosystems. 

Torppa K., Castaño Soler C., Glimskär A., Klinth M., Roslin T., Skånes H., Taylor A., Viketoft M., Clemmensen K., Maaroufi N.I. (2024). Soil moisture and fertility drive earthworm diversity in north temperate semi-natural grasslands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Nwe T.Z., Handa T., Kempel A., Soliveres S., Maaroufi N.I., Raymond-Léonard L., Pichon N., Cappelli S., Allan E. Collembola feeding traits respond strongly to plant community characteristics. In review in SBB

Castaño C., Glimskär A., Hallin S., Maaroufi N.I., Skånes H., Clemmensen K.E. Profiling fungal and arbuscular mycorrhizal communities in semi-natural grasslands and leys in a northern landscape. In review in Applied Soil Ecology

Mukamparirwa V., Bargues-Tobella A., Maliondo S.M.S., Mugunga C.P., Maaroufi N.I. Native and N2-fixing trees provide better green manure than fast-growing agroforestry trees in sub-Saharan Africa. In review in Applied Ecology

Torppa K., Viketoft M., Maaroufi N.I., Vahter T., Vasar M., Öpik M., Weih M., Taylor A (2023). Soil compaction affects arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis differently for spring wheat varieties with contrasting root traits. Plant & Soil

Cheng Y., Rutten G., Liu X., Ma M., Maaroufi N.I.*, Zhou S* (2023). Host plant height explains the effect of nitrogen enrichment on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities. New Phytologist
*Shared last authorship

Nwe T.Z., Maaroufi N.I., Allan E., Soliveres S., Kempel A. (2023) Plant attributes interact with fungal pathogens and nitrogen addition to drive soil enzymatic activities and their temporal variation. Functional Ecology

Maaroufi N.I., Taylor A., Ehnes R., Andrén H., Kjellander P., Björkman C., Kätterer T., Klapwijk  M. J. (2022) Northward range expansion of rooting ungulates decreases soil decomposer abundances in boreal forests. Royal Society of Open Science

Pingree M., Kardol P., Nilsson M.-C., Wardle D., Maaroufi N.I., Gundale M.J. (2022) No evidence that boreal biochar impacts soil functioning by serving as microbial refugia. Global Change Biology Bioenergy

Neuenkamp L. & Maaroufi N.I (2020) Tiny fungi in the soil are like medicine for nature. Frontiers for Young Minds.

Maaroufi N.I. & J.R. De Long (2020) Global change impacts on forest soils: linkage between soil biota and carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus stoichiometry. Frontiers Forests & Global Change 

Forsmark B., Nordin A.N., Maaroufi N.I., Lundmark T., Gundale M.J.  (2020) Low and High nitrogen deposition rates in northern coniferous forests have different impacts on aboveground litter production, soil respiration, and soil carbon stocks. Ecosystems 

Maaroufi N. I., Nordin A., Palmqvist K., Hasselquist N.J., Forsmark B., Rosenstock N.P., Wallander H., Gundale M. J. (2019) Anthropogenic nitrogen enrichment enhances soil carbon accumulation by impacting saprotrophs rather than ectomycorrhizal fungal activity. Global Change Biology

Maaroufi N. I., Palmqvist K., Bach L.H., Bokhorst S., Liess A., Gundale M. J., Kardol P., Nordin A., Meunier C. L. (2018) Nutrient optimization of tree growth alters structure and function of boreal soil food webs. Forest Ecology and Management 428:46-56

Maaroufi N. I., Nordin A., Palmqvist K., Gundale M. J. (2017) Nitrogen enrichment impacts on boreal litter decomposition are driven by changes in soil microbiota rather than litter quality. Scientific Reports. 7:4083

Maaroufi N. I. (2016) The effect of Simulated Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition on the Net Carbon Balance of Boreal Soils SLU, Doctoral thesis Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880 ; 2016:98

Maaroufi N. I., Nordin A., Palmqvist K., Gundale M. J. (2016) Chronic nitrogen deposition has a minor effect on the quantity and quality of aboveground litter in a boreal forest. PLOS One. 8: e0162086

Maaroufi N. I., Nordin A., Hasselquist N. J., Bach L.H., Palmqvist K., Gundale M. J. (2015) Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition enhances carbon sequestration in boreal soils. Global Change Biology. 21:3169-3180