Professor Dr. Judith Sarneel

Biography

Judith Sarneel is an Associate Professor at Umeå University, specializing in riparian ecology and plant-soil interactions. Her research prominently focuses on community composition and decomposition processes in plant communities, using innovative tools such as the tea bag index to assess decomposition rates. Sarneel is actively involved in projects like Teatime4science, which aims to collect data on global decomposition patterns while engaging citizen scientists. Her work emphasizes the critical importance of riparian zones, revealing how past events and species arrival order influence current ecological processes and community structures. Judith's research integrates fundamental ecological questions with practical applications, contributing significantly to our understanding of wetland ecology. She is a member of the Dutch advisory board for fen management and has collaborated with Dutch and Flemish scientists to advance wetland research. Since her tenure at Utrecht University ended in 2018, Sarneel has been dedicated to synthesizing research on the responses of decomposition and respiration across space and time, particularly in light of climate change.

Research Interests

Experience