Profile

The group carries out research into the following areas:

• Microbial ecology including the relationships between microbial activity, climate, soil physical factors and soil management. This includes the influence of microorganisms on soil fertility in both organic and conventional farming practices, the effect of tillage on microbial turnover and soil structure, the effect of heavy metals, biological N2-fixation and denitrification, as well as the ability of microorganisms to resist or degrade environmentally harmful substances such as ethylene and pesticides.

• Research on organic matter focuses on the turnover of crop residues, animal manure and other organic manures, the influence of organic matter on soil fertility as well as the interaction between crop type, crop rotation, soil tillage and the organically bound nutrients in the soil/plant system. Another area of research is the effect of the physical placement of nutrients in relation to roots. Residual effects of organic manure applications, the variations in space and time in the turnover processes and the possibilities of creating synchrony between nutrient availability and crop demand are research areas of particular importance.

• Research into agricultural emissions of greenhouse gases from the soil/plant system (nitrous oxide, methane) and the importance of soil in the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 are areas that are currently under development.