My research is at the interface between community and ecosystem ecology. Most of my past research has centered on interactions of plants with soil fauna and microbes outside of the relatively well-defined symbioses, and aims to understand the functional significance of belowground biodiversity for aboveground systems. My research is addressing questions pertaining to the importance of ecosystem engineers and both fungal and bacterial grazers in shaping rhizosphere microbial diversity and functioning and their feedback on plant productivity, plant competition and on the performance of aboveground herbivores.