Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas Richter

 

 

   

 

 

Head of the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science
Head of the Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research

☎ +43 1 4277 91260

✉ andreas.richter@univie.ac.at 

Microbial communities are key components of all global biogeochemical cycles and play a central yet poorly understood role in climate change biology. Andreas Richter’s group investigates how growth and turnover of microbial communities control the deconstruction and mineralisation of organic matter in terrestrial ecosystems in current and future climates. The group has redefined and expanded the concept of microbial carbon and nitrogen use efficiency, linking it to ecological stoichiometry theory.

Andreas also pioneered the development of methods to estimate microbial growth and carbon use efficiency based on stable oxygen isotopes. Andreas’ research group has extensively worked on soil organic matter storage in arctic ecosystems and permafrost-climate feedback, as well as in deep soils from the tropics to arctic. They also explore the interactive effects of future climate conditions and climate extremes on microbial processes, community composition, and plant-microbe interactions.

Research Topics

  • Carbon use efficiency, growth and turnover of microbial communities
  • Arctic soil carbon storage and the permafrost-climate feedback
  • Microbial communities, SOM composition and the breakdown of organic matter
  • Ecological stoichiometry and nitrogen and phosphorus cycling
  • Effect of climate change and elevated CO2 on soil processes

Join the Team

If you are interested in joining our team, explore our open positions and learn more about available PhD and postdoc stipends here.

Teaching

To explore Andreas' teaching activities at the University of Vienna, visit u:find.

Research Projects

We are part of the Horizon 2020 project "EU-PolarNet - Connecting Science with Society", the world’s largest consortium of expertise and...

Understanding the contribution of microorganisms to ecosystem processes remains one of the most compelling challenges in ecology and requires a high...

Climate changes and elevated CO2 have major impacts on biogeochemical cycles, which may in turn feed back on the climate system. ClimGrass-C is a new...

Collaboration with other international projects

Group Members


 Publications

Showing entries 1 - 6 out of 281
Söllinger, A., Ahlers, L. S., Dahl, M. B., Sigurðsson, P., Le Noir de Carlan, C., Bhattarai, B., Gall, C., Martin, V. S., Rottensteiner, C., Motleleng, L. L., Breines, E. M., Verbruggen, E., Ostonen, I., Sigurdsson, B. D., Richter, A., & Tveit, A. T. (2024). Microorganisms in subarctic soils are depleted of ribosomes under short-, medium-, and long-term warming. The ISME Journal, 18(1), [wrae081]. https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrae081

Gargallo-Garriga, A., Sardans, J., Llusià, J., Peguero, G., Ayala-Roque, M., Courtois, E. A., Stahl, C., Urban, O., Klem, K., Nolis, P., Pérez-Trujillo, M., Parella, T., Richter, A., Janssens, I. A., & Peñuelas, J. (2024). Different profiles of soil phosphorous compounds depending on tree species and availability of soil phosphorus in a tropical rainforest in French Guiana. BMC Plant Biology, 24(1), [278]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-04907-x