Dr. Matty P. Berg

Curriculum vitae, Literature list, Teaching 

Research interests

What gets me out of bed every morning is the question what determines the diversity and composition of soil fauna communities. I am especially interested in the interplay between species-specific traits and spatial scales in determining shifts in community composition under environmental stress. I study which functional traits underlay changes in species composition, from the micro-scale (m2) to the macro-scale (among biomes). I also study how changes in species composition (via response traits) affect important soil processes (via species effect traits), such as litter decomposition.
 
My aim is to integrate ecological and evolutionary concepts into community ecology by using inter- and intraspecific variation in species traits, including tolerance traits (micro-scale) and dispersal traits (meta- to macro-scale), to understand the impact of environmental changes on local community composition and functioning.

My research emphasizes a mechanistic approach, linking species functional traits to community composition and functioning. I use a variety of study systems, including green beach, salt marsh, and sub-arctic tundra, as well as a variety of model organisms, including Collembola and terrestrial Isopoda.

I participate in the Amsterdam Global Change Institute (AGCI), an interdisciplinary group of researchers that aims to contribute to sustainable choices by integrating knowledge about changes in natural and social systems.

Selected Publications

Ellers, J., S. Rog, C. Braam and M.P. Berg (2011). Genotype richness and phenotypic dissimilarity enhance population performance. Ecology, 92: 1605-1615.

Berg, M.P., E.T. Kiers, G. Driessen, M. van der Heijden, B.W. Kooi, F. Kuenen, M. Liefting, H.A. Verhoef and J. Ellers (2010). Adapt or disperse: understanding species persistence in a changing world. Global Change Biology, 16: 587-598.

Berg, M.P. and J. Ellers (2010). Trait plasticity in species interactions: a driving force of community dynamics. Evolutionary Ecology, 24: 617-629.

Krab, E.J., H. Oorsprong, M.P. Berg and J.H.C Cornelissen (2010). Turning Northern peatlands upside down: disentangling microclimate and substrate quality effects on vertical stratification of Collembola. Functional Ecology, 24: 1362-1369.

M. Viketoft, M., J. Bengtsson, B. Sohlenius, M.P. Berg, O. Petchey, C. Palmborg and K. Huss-Danell (2009). Long-term effects of plant diversity and composition on soil nematode communities in model grasslands. Ecology, 90: 90-99.

Olff, H., D. Alonso, M.P. Berg, B. Klemens Eriksson, M. Loreau, Th. Piersma and N. Rooney (2009). Parallel ecological networks in ecosystems. Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society B, 364: 1755-1779.

Research projects

My research focuses on the role of trait diversity in community and ecosystem ecology and can be divided in two major research areas:

Focal point 1. The role of trait diversity in community ecology 
This focal point comprises work on the role of trait diversity, both on species and community level, for the regulation of community structure. I measure functional traits of soil fauna and use field experiments and trait analysis to study temporal and spatial changes in soil invertebrate community composition, at a hierarchy of spatial scales.

Research line 1(micro/meso-scale). The role of trait diversity in community structure
I study the importance of trait diversity and plasticity for population performance and community structure along environmental gradients. With collaborators I apply the concept of trait diversity and plasticity to species interactions and community composition, leading to new theoretical advances on the interface between evolution and ecology. This work is mainly carried out using the invertebrate soil community of the green beach of the Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog. Read more.

Participants:Jacintha Ellers, Andre Dias, Gerard Driessen, Hans Cornelissen



Research line 2(meso/meta-scale). The role of spatial scale in community ecology
I study the importance of trait composition (i.e. environmental tolerance and dispersal related traits) for community structure. My aim is to understand changes in soil fauna community composition in fragmented landscapes and along chronosequences, using a metacommunity approach. In these studies I try to merge information on habitat conditions and species traits with the metacommunity approach. Read more.

Participants: Pedro Martins da Silva, Paulo Sousa, Maarten Schrama, Han Olff, Lina Ahlbäck, Tina Astor, Janne Bengtsson


Research line 3(macro-scale). The biogeography of soil fauna
I study the importance of soil type, vegetation composition, local disturbances, and microclimate for the distribution and ecology of dominant soil fauna groups. My aim is to know which soil fauna species do occur in the Netherlands, and to understand how environmental factors determine their regional and local spatial distribution. This work is mainly carried out in collaboration with the European Invertebrate Survey (EIS-NL), the National Centre for Biodiversity (NCB Naturalis), and many volunteers. Read more.

Participants: EIS-working group Soil Fauna


Focal point 2. The role of trait diversity in ecosystem ecology 

This focal point comprises work on the role of trait diversity, both on a  species and community level, for the regulation of ecosystem processes. I measure traits and conduct experiments to understand how environmental variation influences ecosystem processes, trough alteration of species interactions, using trait-linkages.

Research line 1.Testing the response-to-effect trait framework
I study the link between response traits and effect traits within a trophic level, as well as between trophic levels (i.e. litter and detritivores). My aim is to understand how trait diversity and trait linkages within and between trophic levels modify the impact of global change (temperature and precipitation) on ecosystem processes (litter decomposition). This work is carried out using species traits as well as community traits. Read more.

Participants: Eva Krab, Hans Cornelissen, Marika Makkonen, Rien Aerts, Veronique Vos, Frank Berendse, Jasper van Ruijven, Stephan Hättenschwiler, Eric Chauvet, Mark Gessner, Stefan Scheu, Waltraud Schulze, Andre Dias, Jacintha Ellers, David Wardle, Martin Zimmer, Francesco de Bella, Marco Moretti, Carolina Cerna

I am (was) also involved in a number of additional projects:

Causes of decline and possibilities to restore chalk-grasslands using life-history strait analysis.
Participants: Toos van Noordwijk, Eva Remke, Henk Siepel, Dries Bonte

Recovery of litter fauna assemblages after disturbance in three forest biomes
Participants: Vincent Comor, Frank van Langevelde, Herbert Prins, Steven de Bie

Response-to-effect traits in Collembola communities in Mediterranean ecosystems
Participants; Anna Malmström, Jérôme Cortet

Effects of genetically modified crops with elevated glucosinolate levels on function and diversity of non-target soil invertebrates
Participants:Elaine van Ommen Kloeke, Dick Roelofs, Jacintha Ellers, Mark Aarts

What is the effect of functional diversity in different trophic levels on decomposition in terrestrial and aquatic systems? (ESF BioCycle).
Participants: Marika Makkonen, Rien Aerts, Veronique Vos, Frank Berendse, Jasper van Ruijven, Stephan Hättenschwiler, Eric Chauvet, Mark Gessner, Stefan Scheu, Waltraud Schulze

Soil functioning and species redundancy in contaminated soils: the relevance of environmental heterogeneity (NWO-SSEO).
Participants: Diane Heemsbergen, Herman Verhoef, Jack Faber, Nico van Straalen