Sylwia Adamczyk

My research focuses on mechanisms driving carbon and nitrogen cycling in boreal ecosystems—processes that are essential for understanding how northern soils regulate carbon storage and nutrient dynamics. I work broadly at the intersections of soil ecology including soil organic matter dynamics, ecotoxicology, biochemistry, plant physiology, and the environmental impacts of agricultural and forestry practices. Key areas of my work include: Plant secondary metabolites, particularly terpenes, and their role in carbon and nitrogen cycling in boreal, including how conifer-derived terpenes affect pathogens. Soil microbial biomass and necromass and their contribution to soil organic carbon pools and long-term carbon stabilization. Interactions between mycorrhizal types (e.g., ectomycorrhizal vs. ericoid) and their combined influence on soil organic matter decomposition and stabilization. Soil nutrient status, especially nitrogen fertilization, and its effects on soil carbon storage, microbial community dynamics, and plant secondary metabolism. Environmental stressors and emerging pollutants, such as conventional and biodegradable microplastics or plastic mulch leachates, and how they influence plant physiology, soil processes, and plant–microbe interactions. Method development, including the optimization of chromatography-based techniques for accurate quantification of fungal and bacterial necromass across mineral, organic, and peat soils. Overall, my work integrates soil microbial ecology, plant functional traits, secondary metabolites, and environmental change (e.g., land use, nutrient inputs, pollutants) to better understand the mechanisms that regulate soil carbon and nutrient cycling in boreal ecosystems. Keywords: carbon and nutrient cycling, biochemistry methods, pollutants, nano and microplastics, terpenes, boreal ecosystem, ecotoxicology