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

Portrait Armin Jordan

Outstanding publication award for advancement in atmospheric hydrogen observations

February 03, 2026
Armin Jordan Auszeichnung Award
The EGU journal “Atmospheric Measurement Techniques” has granted its annual “Outstanding Publication Award” for a publication on long-term atmospheric observations of molecular hydrogen (H2), co-authored by Armin Jordan from GasLab.
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mobile phone showing a plant photo

Plants as Environmental Sensors: Citizen Science Data Reveal the Impact of Urbanization on Climate and Soils

January 15, 2026
Citizen Science Plant Traits Research project Flora Incognita soils
Using more than 80 million observations from plant identification apps, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry have produced a detailed picture of fine-scale climate and soil conditions for 326 European cities.
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Directors of MPI for Biogeochemistry

Nominations sought for the position of Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry

January 01, 2026
Personalia
The Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany, expects to have an opening for a director and scientific member of the Max Planck Society (MPG) in the general field of ecosystem ecology and biogeochemical cycles in the Earth System and related areas.
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More news and press releases

Events

Scientific events

MC3 4 Earth - PhD Symposium

Feb 12, 2026 02:00 PM - 06:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
IT Paradies (conference room, 6th floor)

IMPRS retreat 2026

Mar 3, 2026 - Mar 4, 2026

IMPRS Selection Symposium

Mar 10, 2026 - Mar 11, 2026
⇒ More scientific events

Public events & Presentations

Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2026

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

Seminars & colloquia

Seminar: Susanne Tautenhahn

Crowd-sensed plant observations for ecosystem research
Feb 12, 2026 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

Seminar: Konstantin Schellenberg

Improving stand-scale monitoring of vegetation water content and rainfall interception by GNSS-T Vegetation Optical Depth (VOD) remote sensing
Feb 12, 2026 02:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

Seminar: Yuchen Bai

Pulse fragmentation-induced uncertainty in forest LAI mapping using UAV LiDAR
Feb 26, 2026 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

Seminar: Christian Reimers

Understanding the effects of meteorology on plant phenology using transformer networks
Apr 2, 2026 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
⇒ More seminars/colloquia

Recent Publications

Lusk, D.; Wolf, S.; Svidzinska, D.; Dormann, C. F.; Kattge, J.; Bruelheide, H.; Sabatini, F. M.; Damasceno, G.; Martínez, Á. M.; Violle, C. et al.; Hending, D.; Hähn, G. J. A.; Tabeni, S.; Phartyal, S.; Gonçalves, F.; Kreft, H.; Schmidt, M.; Chen, H.; Güler, B.; Dolezal, J.; Pielech, R.; Guido, A.; Dwyer, C.; Napoleone, F.; Willie, J.; Gasper, A. L.; Macía, M. J.; Chytry, M.; Lenoir, J.; Thakur, D.; Dengler, J.; Świerszcz, S.; Altman, J.; Mucina, L.; Nerlekar, A. N.; Kakinuma, K.; Rawat, P.; Stančić, Z.; Testolin, R.; Hatim, M. Z.; Rodrigues, F.; Homeier, J.; Marques, M. C. M.; McCarthy, J. K.; El-Sheikh, M. A.; Korznikov, K.; Gerberding, K.; Kattenborn, T.: Crowdsourced biodiversity monitoring fills gaps in global plant trait mapping. Nature Communications 17, 1203 (2026)
MPG.PuRe
DOI
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supplementary-material
External
Schmidtová, D.; Gil, J. P.; Pleska, M.; Hukelova, Z.; Vyskočilová, G.; Klontza, V.; Čejková, B.; Garbaras, A.; Cieszynska, W.; Šedo, O. et al.; Steinhof, A.; Scerra, S.; Hofmanová, Z.; Fernandes, R.: Isotopes reveal a plant-consuming multi-cultural community in Late Antique Sicily. npj Heritage Science 14, 73 (2026)
MPG.PuRe
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Gnanamoorthy, P.; Zhao, J.; Chen, Y.; Jiao, L.; Sawasdchai, B.; Jing, Z.; Chakraborty, A.; Deb Burman, P. K.; Lee, S.-C.; Pugh, T. A. M. et al.; Zhang, Y.; Song, Q.: Post-drought vegetation shifts lead to divergent carbon, water and energy responses in a Savanna ecosystem of southwest China. Ecology Letters 29 (1), e70321 (2026)
MPG.PuRe
DOI
Maia-Braga, P. L.; Bueno, A. S.; Maximiano, M. F. A.; Haugaasen, T.; Anciães, M.; Blake, J. G.; Loiselle, B. A.; Borges, S. H.; Menger, J.; Dantas, S. et al.; Melinski, R. D.; Souza, A. H. N.; de Abreu, F. H. T.; Boss, R. L.; Peres, C. A.: Patterns of understorey bird diversity across Amazonian forests: survey effort and range maps predict local species richness. Ecography, e07625 (2026)
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Blome, T.; Bollig, M.; Bonn, A.; Haefs, E.; Hornidge, A.-K.; Jacob, D.; Potthast, T.; Reichstein, M.; Renner, B.; Rhyner, J. et al.; Siebenhüner, B.; Sonntag, S.: Advancing sustainable development: Sustainability science summit 2025. Gaia-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 34 (3), pp. 185 - 187 (2025)
MPG.PuRe
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