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.

A hand holds a cardboard sign into the air. "Equality in Diversity" is written on it in capital letters.

Equal Opportunities

Equal opportunities for all - this principle is upheld both in the Max Planck Society and at our institute. We promote employees regardless of gender, nationality, religion, disability, age, cultural origin and sexual identity, because their diversity is the basis for cutting-edge research.

News

The hidden belowground recycling of phosphorus in the Amazon rainforest helps the forest continue to grow, but also makes the ecosystem potentially more vulnerable to climate change.
 
The 2023-2024 El Niño caused the most severe drought ever recorded in the Amazon rainforest, along with heat waves and fires. But it also significantly affected the emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds through the Amazon rainforest’s vegetation and their uptake by soils.
A new study reveals that leaf turnover strategies and heat stress in Amazonian trees affect atmospheric chemistry and carbon cycling: trees, and in particular brevideciduous trees, emit more and more carbon-rich volatile organic compounds as temperatures rise.

Events

For scientists

4th General Assembly & Phase 2 Kick-off of the "Integrated Greenhouse Gas Monitoring System for Germany (ITMS)"

Sep 29, 2026 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany) - Oct 1, 2026 02:00 PM
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (Hans Knöll Straße 10, 07745), Jena, Room: Hörsaal (C0.001)

IMPRS Selection Symposium

Oct 5, 2026 - Oct 6, 2026

IMPRS retreat 2027

Mar 4, 2027 - Mar 5, 2027

For all

Heimspiel Wissenschaft: Flora Incognita – Pflanzen per App bestimmen und die Biodiversität erforschen

Sep 29, 2026 07:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Regionalmuseum Bad Frankenhausen

Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2026

Nov 20, 2026 06:00 PM - 11:55 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPI-BGC

Flora incognita – mehr als Pflanzenbestimmung

Nov 26, 2026 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
Online

Seminars & colloquia

Colloquium: Jordi Vila-Guerau de Arellano

Cloud–Forest Coupling: New insights from Amazon Observations and Multiscale Modelling
Oct 8, 2026 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

Recent Publications

Wang, H.; Huang, J.; Maestre, F. T.; Zhao, G.; Lu, N.; Wang, C.; Chen, W.; Bramble, D. S.; Schrumpf, M.; Dippold, M. A. et al.; Zhang, Y.; Zaehle, S.; Fu, B.; Trumbore, S. E.: Radiocarbon reveals modern carbon exchange with topsoil inorganic carbon in drylands. Global Change Biology 32 (9), e71095 (2026)
Zhao, W.; Winkler, A.; Reichstein, M.; Orth, R.; Gentine, P.: Learning evaporative fraction with memory. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 30 (16), pp. 5373 - 5394 (2026)
Virkkala, A.-M.; Wargowsky, I.; Vogt, J.; Kuhn, M. A.; Madaan, S.; Windholz, T.; Arndt, K. A.; Rocher-Ros, G.; Göckede, M.; Olefeldt, D. et al.; Schuur, E. A. G.; et, a.; Natali, S. M.: ABCFlux v2: Arctic–boreal CO2 and CH4 monthly flux observations and ancillary information across terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Earth System Science Data 18 (9), pp. 6357 - 6409 (2026)
Kösters, L.; Karbstein, K.; Hodac, L.; Albreht, L.; Sahuquillo Balbuena, E.; Botello, D.; Hardy, O.; Odufuwa, P.; Pardo Otero, E.; Phang, A. et al.; Pimentel, M.; Piñeiro, R.; Smith, J.; Wilkie, P.; Mäder, P.; Wäldchen, J.: Balanced DNA interpolation improves learning of genetic distance-informed embeddings in plants. PLOS Computational Biology 22 (9), e1014722 (2026)
Hodac, L.; Nauber, T.; Wäldchen, J.; Karbstein, K.; Wetzel, A.; Mäder, P.: From LiDAR point clouds to 3D tree morphometrics: New approach to quantitatively evaluate tree shapes. Methods in Ecology and Evolution (2026)
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