TER

Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research

Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science

About TER

The Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research | TER at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science | CeMESS aims to advance the fundamental understanding of how soil microorganisms and plants respond to and in turn shape their abiotic and biotic environment, and what consequences these interactions have for the functioning of the Earth’s ecosystems.

Researchers at TER address pressing environmental issues, such as the impact of climate change on ecosystem functioning and the role of soils in the global carbon cycle and in food security.

More about CeMESS

News

15 FULLY FUNDED PHD POSITIONS IN THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL IN MICROBIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

01.09.2020 TER

The Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Sciences offers 15 fully funded PhD positions in diverse research areas ranging from molecular…

Congratulations – MSc Carolina Urbina / MSc Chupei Shi

20.08.2020 TER

Congratulations to Carolina and Chupei, who successfully defended their MSc thesis on Thursday August 20th.

Hannes Schmidt appointed Senior Scientist

17.08.2020 TER

We are very happy that Hannes will join the staff of TER as a Senior Scientist on a permanent contract. He will strengthen our expertise in isotope…

Persistence of soil organic carbon caused by functional complexity: New Nature Geoscience ‘Perspectives’ Paper

29.07.2020 TER

A new concept, put forward by an interdisciplinary group of soil scientists and mathematical modellers looks at soil carbon persistence through the…

Carbon loss from northern circumpolar permafrost soils amplified by rhizosphere priming. New paper in Nature Geoscience published

21.07.2020 TER

As global temperatures continue to rise, a key uncertainty of climate projection is the microbial decomposition of vast organic carbon stocks in…

New project: “Death – The elusive side of microbial turnover in soil”

07.07.2020 TER

Jörg Schnecker has been granted approval for a new project “Death – The elusive side of microbial turnover in soil” within the framework of the…

Latest Publications at TER

Luo, Y., Cardoso, MF. S., Halfwerk, R., Sechi, V., Wanek, W., & Buisman, C. J. N. (2026). Distinct and synergistic roles of bacteria, fungi, and extracellular polymeric substances in soil aggregation. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 222, 1-4. Article 110274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110274

Glasl, B., Kitzinger, K., Luter, H. M., Legin, A., Schuster, S., Salas, E., Heldwein, N., Damjanovic, K., Rutsch, M., Vekeman, B., Geerlings, N. M. J., Pjevac, P., Séneca, J., Watzka, M., Wanek, W., Speth, D. R., & Wagner, M. (2026). Branched-chain amino acid assimilation enables mixotrophy of ammonia-oxidizing archaeal sponge symbionts. Science Advances, 12(36), 1-15. Article eaef9450. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef9450

Lintner, M., Polovodova Asteman, I., Bernhard, J. M., Legin, A., Schintlmeister, A., Cyran, N., Schmidt, K., Wanek, W., Golen, J., & Tyszka, J. (2026). Water soluble fuel compounds impair metabolism in benthic foraminifera: Ecotoxicological observations at cellular level. Science of the Total Environment, 1045, 1-10. Article 181976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181976

Yao, R., Zhang, Y., Wanek, W., Luo, Z., Fu, H., Chang, S. X., Terrer, C., Jiang, M., Ge, T., Liang, G., Yang, Y., Luo, Y., Chen, J., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Chadwick, D. R., Jones, D. L., Wu, L., Liang, Y., & Ma, Q. (2026). Synergistic Interactions Between Warming and Elevated Atmospheric CO₂ Increase Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration. Global Change Biology, 32(8), 1-14. Article e71072. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.71072

Sun, L., Chen, J., Qiao, Y., Moorhead, D. L., Wanek, W., Ochoa-Hueso, R., & Lin, Y. (2026). Revisiting ecoenzymatic stoichiometry models for improved understanding of microbial resource limitations. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 222, 1-10. Article 110280. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110280