Prof. Cécile Thonar

Associate Professor — Chargée de Cours

Chair of Agroecology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium

Profile & curriculum

MSc in Agricultural Sciences (1996-2001, Gembloux AgroBioTech, ULiège, Belgium)
PhD in Sciences (2005-2009, Polytechnical School of Zurich, ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
SNF-Postdoctoral Research Associate (2010-2011, CIAT Africa, Nairobi, Kenya)
Group Leader “Plant symbioses in Soil Sciences Department” (2011-2017, FiBL, Switzerland)
Senior Scientist in the group of “Plant Genetics and Rhizosphere Processes” at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Belgium
Co-founder of BRIOAA (Belgian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture and Agroecology

Rhizosphere ecology and physiology
Arbuscular mycorrhiza
Rhizospheric functions of associated plants (pre-crops, companion crops, mixed crops, border plants…)
Microbiome and rhizosphere management trough agroecological approaches
Plant genetic determinants of improved associations with beneficial soil microorganisms
Nitrogen and phosphorus management for improved uptake and use efficiency by crops
Soil biodiversity and functions as affected by climate change
Organic agriculture and agroecology

PlantaGO (2024-2028): Biological nitrification inhibition by Plantago lanceolata to reduce nitrogen losses from agroecosystems:
Funding: WEAVE Program (SNF and FNRS)
BioMycNet (2024-2029): Réseau de recherche et d'innovations en inoculation microbienne des cultures comme levier de la transition agro-écologique du sénégal
Funding: ARES
FertiGO (2024-2027): Improving fertilizing strategies by innovative use of Plantain (Plantago lanceola) in agricultural systems.
Funding: Green-Era-Hub
CATCH-BNI (2021-2024): Improved nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture by CATCH crops as producers of Biological Nitrification Inhibitors. /
Funding: SUSCROP ERA-NET
BIOFAIR (2021-2024): Biodiversity of soils and farming Innovations for improved resilience in European wheat agrosystems.
Funding: BiodivERsA ERA-NET
SEA2LAND (2021-2025): Producing advanced bio-based fertilizers from fisheries wastes.
Funding: Horizon 2020 (European Union)
GAIN (2018-2024): Gestion des Adventices par Innovations de la Nutrition azotée.
Funding: Regional Government of Belgium (DGO3)
CASSAVABIOME (2020-2023) Advanced genetics and soil microbiome contribution for drought tolerance in cassava (Indonesia).
Funding: Global Minds Fellowship (KU Leuven, Belgium); co-supervision
MyVIP (2020-2022): MYcorrhizae-enabled network and communication between Virus-Infected Plants.
Funding: FNRS; co-supervision

From September 2022: BINGF404, Agroecology and crop/soil microbiology
From September 2023: BINGF301 General and environmental microbiology (Main teachers: Isabelle George and Sigrid Flahaut)

Jauregui, I., Vega-Mas, I., Delaplace, P., Vanderschuren, H., Thonar, C. (2022). An optimized hydroponic pipeline for large-scale identification of wheat genotypes with resilient biological nitrification inhibition activity. New Phytol. doi.org/10.1111/nph.18807
Mathu Ndungu S., Messmer M., Ziegler D., Gamper H., Mészáros E., Thuita M., Vanlauwe B., Frossard E., Thonar C. (2018)
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) hosts several widespread bradyrhizobial root nodule symbionts across contrasting agro-ecological production areas in Kenya
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 261, 161-171.
Symanczik S., Gisler M., Thonar C., Schlaeppi K., Van der Heijden M., Kahmen A., Boller T, Maeder P. (2017)
Application of mycorrhiza and soil from a permaculture system improved phosphorus acquisition in naranjilla.
Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 1263.
Thonar C., Frossard E. Smilauer P., and Jansa J. (2014). Competition and facilitation in synthetic communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Molecular Ecology, 23(3): 733-746.
Thonar C., Erb A., and Jansa J. (2012)
Real-time PCR to quantify composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities – marker design, verification, calibration, and field validation.
Molecular Ecology Resources, 12(2): 219-232.

All publications are available upon request or through ResearchGate