Marion Schrumpf appointed professor of “Ecology of Agricultural Ecosystems”

Dr. Marion Schrumpf, a long-standing scientist at the MPI for Biogeochemistry, is moving to Martin Luther University Halle and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) as joint professor of “Ecology of Agricultural Ecosystems.”

Plants can bind greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from the air. Some of the carbon absorbed in this process ends up in the soil, where it can be stored for long periods of time. Marion Schrumpf is investigating the detailed processes involved and how humans influence them, for example through land use. Since October, she has held the joint professorship for “Ecology of Agricultural Ecosystems” at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).

Soils are of central importance for climate change: “They can be a source or sink of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The future development of carbon stocks in the soil can both mitigate and accelerate climate change,” says Prof. Dr. Marion Schrumpf. Her research focuses on the interactions between plants, microorganisms, and soil properties such as nutrient content and mineral composition. She combines this with factors such as climate and the consequences of land use. The aim is to make better predictions and develop recommendations for sustainable soil use. “Of course, the productivity of agricultural sites and the multifunctionality of soils must also be maintained or improved. It would not make sense to optimize land use solely for carbon storage,” emphasizes the researcher.

Marion Schrumpf studied geoecology at the University of Bayreuth and received her doctorate there in 2004. She then moved to the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry as a postdoc in the department headed by its founding director, Prof. Ernst-Detlef Schulze. Later, she led the interdepartmental research group “Soil Biogeochemistry” under Prof. Susan Trumbore and Prof. Markus Reichstein.

The appointment to the joint professorship goes hand in hand with the leadership of the UFZ department of the same name. The researcher now wants to continue her work at MLU and UFZ. “I have been working with some colleagues from the soil sciences department at MLU for a very long time and look forward to intensifying these collaborations,” says Schrumpf. She is also looking forward to more intensive contact with students.

We congratulate her and wish her all the best in her new position. We thank her for her many years of commitment and look forward to continuing to work together on joint projects and collaborations.

This news item is based on the press release from MLU Halle-Wittenberg, published in Campus Halensis (https://www.campus-halensis.de/artikel/marion_schrumpf/).