Alena Förster

Alena Förster is a Researcher and PhD student in Soil Science at the University of Trier's Department of Spatial and Environmental Sciences, where she served as Research Associate from May 2021 to July 2025. Her work bridges soil ecology and sustainable agricultural innovation.

Education:

• B.Sc. Bioengineering, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (2014-2018)
• M.Sc. Environmental Science, University of Trier (2018-2021)
• Semester abroad at Murdoch University, Australia (2017)

Her research analyzes soil fauna responses to perennial grain cropping systems, demonstrating how Kernza® cultivation enhances earthworm diversity and nematode functional complexity compared to annual wheat. She investigates nutrient dynamics and biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes under climate change, positioning perennial crops as nature-based solutions for resilient farming.

As lead of Work Package 4 in the NAPERDIV project, she coordinates pan-European research on soil fauna across climate gradients. Her collaborative work spans multiple Western European institutions, producing high-impact publications on soil-plant-microbe interactions in sustainable agroecosystems.