The researcher who is working at the Institute for Bio- and Geosciences (IBG) of the Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany, as well as at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, shared his knowledge in his fourth visit at the UFRO.

The links BIOREN-UFRO has with prestigious world-class research centers remain intact. The recent visit of Dr. Roland Bol, who is working at the Institute for Bio- and Geosciences (IBG) of the Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany), as well as at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), is proof of that.

The main research topics are biogeochemistry, soil sciences and environmental sciences, and during his fourth visit at the UFRO, Dr. Bol provided his expertise and knowledge in the field of research he is working on, which are complex biogeochemical processes that occur in the interface between soil, water and air, and in agricultural ecosystems, especially in the studies Dr. Paola Durán and Dr. Milko Jorquera are working on, and which are also linked with Antarctic bacteria.

“They have taken samples of Antarctic soils, an extreme environment, and we are investigating the composition of these soils more detailed and continue studying microbial ecology microorganisms applied in that environment,” said the researcher.

Dr. Bol is one of the first international experts who is collaborating with the Network for Extreme Environments Research (NEXER) and together with Dr. Maria de la Luz Mora, director of BIOREN-UFRO, he is advancing in the field of isotopes, which are molecules that are marked at the molecular level, with the aim of finding out which is the fate of carbon in soils, the atmosphere, plants, etc.

Written by: Lorena Espinoza Arévalo
Vice-rectorate for Research and Graduate Studies