People

Prof. Dr K. Van Oost

Professor

Kristof is a physical geographer and biogeochemist working at the intersection of geomorphology, biogeochemistry, Earth observation and modelling. He combines field monitoring, sediment and isotope tracers, remote sensing and process-based models to investigate how erosion, sediment transport and deposition redistribute carbon, nutrients and soil across landscapes. His research spans soils, hillslopes, floodplains and river networks, with a particular interest in human impacts on landscape dynamics, tropical environments and the coupling between terrestrial and aquatic systems.

Dr Yanfei Li

Yanfei is a biogeochemist working on carbon cycling in peatland and soil systems. She combines in-situ measurements, high-resolution drone observations, remote sensing and modelling to investigate how hydrology, temperature and vegetation control carbon stocks, respiration and ecosystem dynamics. Her work aims to connect local process measurements with landscape-scale patterns and improve our understanding of carbon responses to environmental change.

Researcher

Dr Pengzhi Zhao

Pengzhi is a soil biogeochemist investigating how human disturbances— such as land-use change, erosion, and agricultural terracing—reshape the geochemical cycling of carbon across terrestrial landscapes. His research integrates multiple approaches, including geochemical analyses, soil incubation experiments, spectroscopic techniques, microbial and mineral characterization, stable isotopes and land surface modeling (e.g., ORCHIDEE).

Researcher

Gaëlle Wanlin

PhD Student

Gaëlle is a physical geographer studying interactions between soil erosion and carbon cycling in tropical agricultural landscapes. Her research investigates how land-use change and cultivation alter soil redistribution and the mobilization, transport and fate of soil organic carbon. She combines field observations, soil and sediment analyses, tracers and spatial approaches to better understand how erosion-driven carbon fluxes respond to human disturbance in tropical environments.

PhD Student

Nathan Carlier

PhD Student

Nathan is a physical geographer and geomorphologist studying sediment and carbon dynamics in tropical river systems. His research focuses on how erosion, sediment transport and floodplain deposition redistribute sediment and organic carbon across the Kasaï and Congo basins. He combines field monitoring, sediment sampling, remote sensing and spatial modelling to quantify river sediment budgets and investigate how land-use change influences floodplain development, sediment storage and the role of floodplains as carbon sources or sinks.

PhD Student

Dr Xiaojing Ou

Researcher

Nadine Bahizire

Nadine works on forest succession using UAV technology. Her PhD research is co-supervised by Prof. Bauters (UGent).

Antonin Busart

PhD Student

Maud Henrion

PhD Student

Montfort Bagalwa Rukeza

PhD Student · OVG, Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma, DR Congo