Department of Biogeochemistry
In the Department of Biogeochemistry research is focused on the microbial metabolism and biogeochemical matter cycling in soil. Soil microbial metabolism plays an important role in the global cycling of matter and — through the formation of atmospheric trace gases such as methane and nitrous oxide — also influences the climate on Earth. The Department of Biogeochemistry examines the role of soil microorganisms in carbon and nitrogen cycling, particularly in chemically well-defined processes e.g., the production and consumption of methane, the oxidation of ammonia, or denitrification.
The processes are examined in different habitats, including submerged soils (rice fields, wetlands) and the intestinal tracts of soil invertebrates. The main purpose is to assign functionally active microbial groups to particular reactions, in order to understand the importance of microbial diversity for the cycling of matter in terrestrial ecosystems. The central research questions are: (1) which microbial taxa are responsible for a particular biogeochemical process, and (2) which is the genetic/physiological background for this structure-function relationship? The methodology includes chemical-analytical techniques, microsensors, application of stabile and radioactive isotopes, isolation and physiological characterization of microorganisms and their metabolic function, and identification of microorganisms and their functional roles using cultivation-independent molecular-biological techniques, including genomic and transcriptomic approaches. Field experiments are combined with greenhouse studies and experiments under controlled laboratory conditions.
There are four research groups and one project group in the department:
- Prof. Dr. Ralf Conrad (Director)
- Methanogenic degradation
Microbial metabolism of trace gases - Prof. Dr. Andreas Brune (Research Group Leader)
- Microbial ecology of the termite gut
Microbial symbioses
Transformation of organic matter by humivorous insects - Dr. Gesche Braker (Research Group Leader)
- Ecology of denitrifying microorganisms
- PD Dr. Werner Liesack (Research Group Leader)
- Molecular biology and ecology of methanotrophs
Environmental genomics and transcriptomics - Prof. Dr. Peter Frenzel (Project Group Leader)
- Methane oxidation
Biogeochemistry and microbial ecology of wetlands