Geertje Pronk PhD

Geertje Pronk is an internationally minded soil scientist and biogeochemist with research experience in the Netherlands, Germany, Australia and Canada. At KWR she works as a programme manager and researcher. She aims to connect scientists, stakeholders and end-users to help solve current and future challenges in maintaining water quality and sustainability. In her previous work, she studied the interactions between soil moisture, carbon cycling and microbial community dynamics, using integrative experimental designs and biogeochemical modelling approaches, at the University of Waterloo (Canada) and the Technical University of Munich (Germany). Geertje’s work contributed to developing a mechanistic understanding of the functioning of soils as a buffer for the transport of nutrients and contaminants to groundwater aquifers. Moreover, she characterised the effect of water-table fluctuations on soil carbon and nutrient cycling, to help understand the effects of water-table management on soil quality and carbon storage potential in a changing climate.