My name is Kostas and I am a soil microbial ecologist working at the intersection of plants, soils and microbes. My research at the UPSC focuses on mycorrhiza fungi.
From the early stages of my scientific career, I became fascinated with the unseen world beneath our feet. Soil microbes are responsible not only for many processes of the different nutrient cycles but also for regulating plant defense and growth, greenhouse gas emissions and even herbivory.
With the effects of climate change now becoming more apparent than ever, my research until now has focused on how changes in the soils biotic and abiotic characteristics affect tree performance and the composition of the microbial communities that inhabit their roots with a special focus on restoring forest ecosystems and root symbiosis.
At the UPSC my work shifts from ecosystem restoration to mycorrhiza fungi; beneficial root symbionts that help trees aquire nutrients in exchange for carbon. Here I study how changes in environmental variables affect the success of this symbiosis and the choices that trees have to make between different symbionts under changing environmental conditions.
Field ecology course: lecturer and supervisor - 2021-2025
MSc and BSc Internship supervisor - 2021-2025