ir. L (Lucas) Bergenhuizen

After graduating from a Master in Bioscience Engineering in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Liège in Belgium, I worked as a research assistant at the Plant Genetics and Rhizosphere Processes Laboratory of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech. Motivated by the desire to learn more about sustainable agriculture and how plants interact with their environment, I am continuing my research journey within the REAP2SOW project at Wageningen University & Research. This project stands for “Resilient and Efficient Agricultural Proteins to Sustain Our World”, a Dutch initiative that aims to develop sustainable, climate-resilient food systems by promoting novel plant-based protein crops that are not yet widely used in Europe (including Quinoa, White lupin, and Aardaker). My research work is part of the work package “Soil biodiversity and functioning”, where I investigate how these protein-rich plants secretly feed microbes underground through their root exudates, and how this shapes soil properties such as carbon sequestration and porosity in diverse contexts, to ensure climate-resilient cropping systems.