Molecular Biogeochemistry

Team | Projects | Facilities | Intranet

Mission

The research group explores key processes in the global biogeochemical cycles at the molecular level. Biomarkers and their isotopic content hold information on the regulation of the individual processes. The group is developing new tools and is applying existing techniques to investigate single key processes.

Interested in working with us?

We are always looking for interested students who want to pursue a Masters Thesis (preferably in combination with a project module) with us. More information about open positions:
Mikrobielle Aktivität entlang des Bodenprofils.

News

• 10.19 - Georg and Gerd conducted a field study in Namibia and sampled fairy cycles in the local arid grasslands for Georg's MSc thesis.
• 09.19 - Carsten and Gerd visited the ATTO field site in Brazil and exchanged with our cooperation partners in a joint workshop.
• 08.19 - New Paper Alert - Roth et al. paper "Persistence of dissolved organic matter explained by molecular changes during its passage through soil" is online in Nature Geoscience. Find the paper here
• 07.19 - Kasun attended the INQUA 2019 Congress held in Dublin, Ireland. He presented a talk on "A Multi-Proxy Reconstruction of Late Holocene Climate and Environmental History in Western Sri Lanka".
• 07.19 - Su Ding successfully defended his thesis on the "Biogeochemical importance of membrane lipids for ecosystem research". Congratulations!
• 05.19 - Georg Dittman joined our group as a MSc student, working on how fairy circles emerge in the arid grasslands of the Namib desert.
• 03.19 - Lydia Mielke joined our group as a MSc student. Lydia's work focuses on how higher trophic levels shape carbon assimilation of soil microorganisms.
• 03.19 - Simon attended the ASLO 2019 Aquatic Sciences Meeting held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He presented a talk titled "Chasing Surface Inputs of ¹⁴C-young Dissolved Organic Matter through a Karstic Aquifer System".
• 02.19 - New Paper Alert - Simon et al. paper about Riverine mixing at the molecular scale - An ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry study on dissolved organic matter and selected metals in the Amazon confluence zone (Manaus, Brazil) is online. Find the paper here
• 12.18 - Natalie attended the 2018 AGU Fall Meeting held in Washington D.C. She presented a talk titled "Reconstructing Holocene Climatic and Environmental Changes in Central Asia From Lake Chatyr Kul (Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan)".
• 12.18 - Stefan Karlowsky successfully defended his thesis on "Mechanisms of Resistance and Resilience in the Plant-Soil System of Mountain Grassland Communities", Congratulations!

Archive

Latest Publications

1	Anslan, S., Rad, M. A., Buckel, J., Galindo, P. E., Kai, J., Kang, W., Keys, L., Maurischat, P., Nieberding, F., Reinosch, E., Tang, H., Tran, T. V., Wang, Y., Schwalb, A. (2019). Reviews and syntheses: How do abiotic and biotic processes respond to climatic variations at the Nam Co catchment (Tibetan Plateau)? Biogeosciences Discussions. doi:10.5194/bg-2019-50.
2	Eisenhauer, N., Bonkowski, M., Brose, U., Buscot, F., Durka, W., Ebeling, A., Fischer, M., Gleixner, G., Heintz-Buschart, A., Hines, J., Jesch, A., Lange, M., Meyer, S., Roscher, C., Scheu, S., Schielzeth, H., Schloter, M., Schulz, S., Unsicker, S., van Dam, N. M., Weigelt, A., Weisser, W. W., Wirth, C., Wolf, J., Schmid, B. (2019). Biotic interactions, community assembly, and ecoevolutionary dynamics as drivers of long-term biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships. Research Ideas and Outcomes, 5: e47042. doi:10.3897/rio.5.e47042.
3	Fischer, C., Leimer, S., Roscher, C., Ravenek, J., de Kroon, H., Kreutziger, Y., Baade, J., Bessler, H., Eisenhauer, N., Weigelt, A., Mommer, L., Lange, M., Gleixner, G., Wilcke, W., Schroder, B., Hildebrandt, A. (2019). Plant species richness and functional groups have different effects on soil water content in a decade-long grassland experiment. Journal of Ecology, 107(1), 127-141. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13046.
4	Huang, J., Hammerbacher, A., Weinhold, A., Reichelt, M., Gleixner, G., Behrendt, T., van Dam, N. M., Sala, A., Gershenzon, J., Trumbore, S. E., Hartmann, H. (2019). Eyes on the future – evidence for trade-offs between growth, storage and defense in Norway spruce. New Phytologist, 222(1), 144-158. doi:10.1111/nph.15522.
5	Leidinger, J., Seibold, S., Weisser, W. W., Lange, M., Schall, P., Tuerke, M., Gossner, M. M. (2019). Effects of forest management on herbivorous insects in temperate Europe. Forest Ecology and Management, 437, 232-245. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2019.01.013.
6	Mellado-Vázquez, P. G., Lange, M., Gleixner, G. (2019). Soil microbial communities and their carbon assimilation are affected by soil properties and season but not by plants differing in their photosynthetic pathways (C3 vs. C4). Biogeochemistry, 142(2), 175-187. doi:10.1007/s10533-018-0528-9.
7	Metzger, J. C., Schumacher, J., Lange, M., Hildebrandt, A. (2019). Neighbourhood and stand structure affect stemflow generation in a heterogeneous deciduous temperate forest. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 23(11), 4433-4452. doi:10.5194/hess-23-4433-2019.
8	Roscher, C., Karlowsky, S., Milcu, A., Gessler, A., Bachmann, D., Jesch, A., Lange, M., Mellado-Vázquez, P. G., Strecker, T., Landais, D., Ravel, O., Buchmann, N., Roy, J., Gleixner, G. (2019). Functional composition has stronger impact than species richness on carbon gain and allocation in experimental grasslands. PLoS One, 14(1): e0204715. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0204715.
9	Roth, V.-N., Lange, M., Simon, C., Hertkorn, N., Bucher, S., Goodall, T., Griffiths, R. I., Mellado-Vázquez, P. G., Mommer, L., Oram, N. J., Weigelt, A., Dittmar, T., Gleixner, G. (2019). Persistence of dissolved organic matter explained by molecular changes during its passage through soil. Nature Geoscience, 12(9), 755-761. doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0417-4.
10	Sattler, T., Sörgel, M., Wittmer, J., Bourtsoukidis, E., Krause, T., Atlas, E., Benk, S., Bleicher, S., Kamilli, K., Ofner, J., Kopetzky, R., Held, A., Palm, W.-U., Williams, J., Zetzsch, C., Schöler, H.-F. (2019). Natural formation of chloro- and bromoacetone in salt lakes of Western Australia. Atmosphere, 10(11): 663. doi:10.3390/atmos10110663.
11	Schwab, V. F., Nowak, M., Elder, C. D., Trumbore, S. E., Xu, X., Gleixner, G., Lehmann, R., Pohnert, G., Muhr, J., Kuesel, K., Totsche, K. U. (2019). C-14-free carbon is a major contributor to cellular biomass in geochemically distinct groundwater of shallow sedimentary bedrock aquifers. Water Resources Research, 55(3), 2104-2121. doi:10.1029/2017WR022067.
12	Schwab, V. F., Nowak, M., Trumbore, S. E., Xu, X., Gleixner, G., Muhr, J., Kuesel, K., Totsche, K. U. (2019). Isolation of individual saturated fatty acid methyl esters derived from groundwater phospholipids by preparative high-pressure liquid chromatography for compound-specific radiocarbon analyses. Water Resources Research, 55(3), 2521-2531. doi:10.1029/2018WR024076.
13	Simon, C., Osterholz, H., Koschinsky, A., Dittmar, T. (2019). Riverine mixing at the molecular scale - An ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry study on dissolved organic matter and selected metals in the Amazon confluence zone (Manaus, Brazil). Organic Geochemistry, 129, 45-62. doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2019.01.013.
14	van Maldegem, L., Sansjofre, P., Weijers, J. W. H., Wolkenstein, K., Strother, P. K., Wörmer, L., Hefter, J., Nettersheim, B. J., Hoshino, Y., Schouten, S., Damsté, J. S. S., Nath, N., Griesinger, Kuznetsov, N. B., Elie, M., Elvert, M., Tegelaar, E., Gleixner, G., Hallmann, C. ,(2019). Bisnorgammacerane traces predatory pressure and the persistent rise of algal ecosystems after Snowball Earth. Nature Communications, 10(1): 476. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08306-x.
15	Zhang, H.-Y., Hartmann, H., Gleixner, G., Thoma, M., Schwab, V. F. (2019). Carbon isotope fractionation including photosynthetic and post-photosynthetic processes in C3 plants: Low [CO2] matters. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 245, 1-15. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2018.09.035.