Exterior view of the institute

Welcome at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry


Focus on the Earth

Our research is dedicated to the study of global biogeochemical cycles describing the interactions between the biosphere, the atmosphere, the geosphere and the entire climate system. We aim to better understand how living organisms - including humans - exchange basic resources such as water, carbon, nutrients, and energy with their environment and how this affects ecosystems and climate at regional to global scales. 

We stand for a Thuringia open to the world

We support the initiative Weltoffenes Thüringen!

We are committed to ensuring that people from different backgrounds live and work together respectfully.

News

Three people in a field during sampling, under a parasol and with various devices.
Microbes in groundwater significantly reduce methane emissions. A new study shows that more than half of the methane is consumed by microorganisms before it can escape.
portrait of Markus Reichstein
Director at Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, honored for his research on  responses and feedbacks of ecosystems to climatic variability.
Drought in the Amazon region with dead trees and cracked ground. Two dead tree trunks stand in the landscape.
New study shows: The ratio of α-pinene mirror molecules reveals the extent to which the Amazon rainforest is suffering from drought stress. Measurements taken at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) documented these changes during the record drought of 2023

Events

Scientific events

15th IMPRS Anniversary

Nov 25, 2025

AGU

Dec 15, 2025 08:30 AM (Pacific Time (US & Canada) UTC-8:00) - Dec 19, 2025 01:00 PM
New Orleans

IMPRS retreat 2026

Mar 3, 2026 - Mar 4, 2026

Public events

There are currently no events planned.

Seminars & colloquia

Seminar: Abdullah Bolek

Evaluation of different UAV-based methods for quantifying fluxes from a geological methane seep
Nov 13, 2025 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Lecture Hall (C0.001)

Seminar: Hui Wang

Persistence and turnover of soil organic carbon in global drylands
Nov 13, 2025 02:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
Lecture Hall (C0.001)

Recent Publications

Zhang, S.; Zhao, W.; Zhu, B.; Yan, C.; Song, X.; Jiang, H.; Fang, J.; Ciais, P.; Xuan, N.; Gentine, P. et al.; Davis, S. J.; Liu, Z.; Qiu, G. Y.: A near-real time daily European Power Consumption and Carbon Intensity Dataset (ECON-PowerCI). Scientific Data 12, 1693 (2025)
Medicus, T.; Tischer, A.; Hartmann, H.; Eichfuss, L.; Michalzik, B.; Wagner, K.; Bernhardt-Römermann, M.: Drought tolerance of emerging european silver fir seedlings (Abies alba Mill.) does not follow geographic gradients. New Forests 56 (6), 64 (2025)
Raoult, N.; Douglas, N.; MacBean, N.; Kolassa, J.; Quaife, T.; Roberts, A. G.; Fisher, R. A.; Fer, I.; Bacour, C.; Dagon, K. et al.; Hawkins, L.; Carvalhais, N.; Cooper, E.; Dietze, M.; Gentine, P.; Kaminski, T.; Kennedy, D.; Liddy, H. M.; Moore, D.; Peylin, P.; Pinnington, E.; Sanderson, B. M.; Scholze, M.; Seiler, C.; Smallman, T. L.; Vergopolan, N.; Viskari, T.; Williams, M.; Zobitz, J.: Parameter estimation in land surface models: Challenges and opportunities with data assimilation and machine learning. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 17 (11), e2024MS004733 (2024)
Galkowski, M.; Marshall, J.; Andrade, B. F.; Gerbig, C.: Impact of atmospheric turbulence on the accuracy of point source emission estimates using satellite imagery. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 25 (20), pp. 13831 - 13848 (2025)
Schindlbacher, A.; Kengdo, S. K.; Heinzle, J.; Tian, Y.; Mayer, M.; Gadermaier, J.; Shi, C.; Malo, C. U.; Liu, X.; Inselsbacher, E. et al.; Jandl, R.; Sierra, C.; Wanek, W.; Borken, W.: Increased belowground carbon allocation reduces soil carbon losses under long-term warming. Global Change Biology 31 (10), e70561 (2025)
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