Agroecosystems, Microbial Resources, and Climate Resilience

Global biogeochemical cycles such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles are essential for life on Earth. Human activities increasingly disrupt these cycles, with severe effects on climate and ecosystems. The focus area explores how microorganisms and ecosystems interact with climate change – how they influence it, respond to it, and offer potential solutions for mitigation and adaptation.

Addressing these complex challenges requires an interdisciplinary and cross-scale research approach. Researchers study fundamental mechanisms at molecular, cellular, and organismic levels to understand their relevance for ecosystems, global phenomena, and the evolution of life. Complementary ecosystem-based studies identify the processes underlying system properties and resilience. The goal is to bridge molecular-level insights and ecosystem-scale understanding to develop innovative, transferable solutions that address global climate challenges while evaluating their feasibility, potential, and risks.

Microorganisms are central to this research. They play key roles in the biogeochemical cycles of major life elements and strongly influence the health, productivity, and resilience of plants and animals in agroecosystems. They also provide crucial resources for a sustainable bioeconomy, linking microbiology and agricultural research.

A central theme is the microbial role in the biological carbon cycle. Microorganisms globally convert roughly as much CO2 as plants and have evolved diverse mechanisms for CO2 fixation and transformation. These processes hold enormous promise for biotechnological innovations aimed at carbon management. The Microbes-for- Climate Cluster seeks to establish the microbial knowledge base for a balanced global carbon cycle by (1) elucidating microbial contributions to climate processes, (2) reconstructing their evolutionary history, and (3) using synthetic biology to design efficient, sustainable CO2 conversion pathways. This work not only advances fundamental science but also creates new microbe-based strategies for mitigating climate change.