EJP-C-arouNd Project
Soil Conservation and Regenerative Practices to Enhance Carbon Sequestration and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
In this international consortium, we aim to investigate how short- and long-term agricultural management practices influence the persistence of soil organic matter (SOM).
Improving soil conservation and regenerative practices to enhance carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Funding: BMBF
Collaborators:Johanna Maria Zimmermann, Prof. Dr. Hermann Jungkunst, Dr. Klaus Schützenmeister, Dr. Jeroen Zethof, Dr. Tatiana Rittl
Personal
See ResearchGate:
Zethof, J.H.T., Kalbitz, K., Jungkunst, H. F. (2026).
Soil Health-What Is It Good For?
Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.70046
Zethof, J.H.T., Ebbesvik, M., Løes, A.K., Pommeresche, R., Zimmermann, J.M., Rittl, T.F.
Evaluating trends in yield and soil quality over 30 years of organically managed grass-clover ley in Norway.
Organic Agriculture, 16(1), 8, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-025-00538-0
Müller, A., Zethof, J.H.T., Pirani, C., Vogel, C., Maccario, L., Sørensen, S.J., Smalla, K., Kalbitz, K., Babin, D.
Inoculation of wild type or EPS mutant Bacillus subtilis does not alter rhizocompetence, soil EPS, and tomato growth in the absence of stress.
Rhizosphere, 34, 101076, 2025 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2025.101076
Zethof, J.H.T., Julich, S., Feger, K.-H., Julich, D.
Legacy effect of 25 years reduced atmospheric sulphur deposition on spruce tree nutrition.
Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 187(6), 834-843, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.202400097
Julich, D., Julich, S., Feger, K. H., Klauder, T., Zethof, J.H.T.
Effects of Past Sulfur Deposition on the Soil Microbial Biomass at Spruce Forest Sites.
Soil Systems, 8(2), 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems8020037
Bettermann A., Zethof J.H.T., Babin D., Cammeraat L.H., Solé-Benet A., Lázaro R., Luna L., Nesme J., Sørensen S.J., Kalbitz K., Smalla K., Vogel C.
Importance of microbial communities at the root-soil interface for extracellular polymeric substances and soil aggregation in semiarid grasslands.
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 108301, 2021.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108301
Baumert V.L., Forstner, S., Zethof, J.H.T., Vogel, C., Heitkötter, J., Schulz, S., Kögel-Knabner, I., Mueller, C.W.
Root-induced fungal growth triggers macroaggregation in forest subsoils.
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 108244, 2021.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108244
Zethof J.H.T., Bettermann A., Vogel C., Babin D., Cammeraat L.H., Solé-Benet A., Lázaro R., Luna L., Nesme J., Woche S.K., Sørensen S.J., Smalla K., Kalbitz K.
Prokaryotic community composition and extracellular polymeric substances affect soil microaggregation in carbonate containing semiarid grasslands.
Frontiers in Environmental Science, 8:51, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00051
Zethof, J.H.T., Leue, M., Vogel, C., Stoner, S.W., Kalbitz, K.
Identifying and quantifying geogenic organic carbon in soils - the case of graphite.
SOIL, 5, 383-398, 2019. https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-383-2019
Zethof, J.H.T., Cammeraat, L.H., Nadal-Romero, E.
The enhancing effect of afforestation over secondary succession on soil quality under semiarid climate conditions.
Science of the Total Environment, 652, 1090-1101, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.235
- 09/2010 - 06/2013 BSc Earth Science (physical geography) at University of Amsterdam
Thesis: "Soil Aggregation: On abandoned fields under the vegetation in a semi-arid Mediterranean environment" - 09/2013 - 08/2016 MSc Earth Science (track Geo-ecological dynamics) at University of Amsterdam
Thesis: "Long-term effects of land-use change on soil quality: Afforestation and land abandonment in semi-arid Spain" - 09/2013 - 12/2016 MSc Hydrology at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam
Thesis: "Long-term effect of afforestation and land abandonment on the soil in semi-arid Spain: Changing Hydrological characteristics of the soil surface" - 01/2017 - 06/2021 PhD student at Institute of soil science and site ecology, Dresden University of Technology (TUD)
Doctoral dissertation topic: "The role of extracellular polymeric substances from microbes in soil aggregate stabilization in semi-arid grasslands" - 10/2021 - 09/2023 Research and teaching associate at Institute of soil science and site ecology, Dresden University of Technology (TUD), in the DFG funded project "Transition of sulphur nutrition from excessive supply to potential deficiency in spruce forest ecosystems in Central Europe"
- 11/2023 - present Postdoctoral researcher at Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) - campus Landau, in the BMBF funded project "EJP - C-arouNd"