I am chair holder Crop and Weed Ecology (CWE) at the Centre of Crop Systems Analysis , WU. CWE focuses on understanding the ecological mechanisms that determine the functioning of crop ecosystems. This involves plant-plant and plant-climate and plant-nutrient interactions, with special emphasis on the role of species diversity. We use a combination of greenhouse & field experiments and crop growth modelling to address their questions. We actively develop new generation crop models that involve 3D virtual plant modelling techniques, ecological and evolutionary game theory and spatial modelling to better understand the functioning of diverse crop systems such intercrops and agroforests.
Coffee: In the CLIMCOFEA project I have been involved in exploring drought tolerance in wild robusta coffee in Uganda (together with IRD France and Nestle). I have also worked on climate projects of arabica production in Brazil in collaboration with University of Sao Paolo.
Cocoa: In the Cocoa Soils project I am primarily involved as supervisor of Lucette Adet [link] and Paulina Asante [link]. Lucette's project aims to determine whether Potassium nutrition can mitigate drought effects. Paulina's project aims to project the effects of climate change on cocoa production in West African cocoa belt: where can cocoa sustainably be produced in the future. I am also involved in a project funded by WOTRO and Mondelez on optimal pruning and shading practices in cocoa.
Chamaedorea: Since my time as post-doc at Stanford University I have worked on the sustainable harvesting of leaves from natural populations of Chamaedorea palms in Mexico.