Dr. Hannes Schmidt

Senior Scientist at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science

☎ +43 1 4277 91266
✉ hannes.schmidt(at)univie.ac.at

Research Profiles

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Research Project

» SurfinSoil - Surfaces in soil predict bacterial functioning

Research Topics

Soil microbes are the primary drivers of terrestrial biogeochemical cycles. These microorganisms live, function, and die within soil pores—complex networks embedded in a matrix of minerals and organic matter. Understanding how microbes occupy these pores is fundamental to ecosystem research, yet little is known about their spatial distribution in pore space. My research combines advanced imaging methods with microbial and spatial ecology to investigate spatial aspects of microbial colonization in soil. Our primary focus is on the micrometer scale, where microbial cells operate, while also striving to relate our findings to larger scales.

Research Projects

SurfinSoil - Surfaces in soil predict bacterial functioning

Current Projects TER

Soil carbon dynamics are mainly driven by bacterial activity and the carbon stored largely consists of remnants of decomposed microbial biomass.…

Publications

Martin V , Rottensteiner C , Schmidt H, Mohrlok M, Horak J, Urbina-Malo C et al. Spatial heterogeneity of soil organic matter and microbial community composition across ice-wedge polygons and soil layers in Arctic lowland tundra. Biogeosciences. 2026 Apr 22;23(8):2761-2785. doi: 10.5194/bg-23-2761-2026

Jenab K, Alteio L, Guseva K , Gorka S , Darcy S , Fuchslueger L et al. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal families and exploration-based guilds exhibit distinct responses to long-term N, P and K deficiencies and imbalances. New Phytologist. 2026 Mar 2;250(3):1846-1862. doi: 10.1111/nph.70969

Hu H , Karwautz C, Duszka K, Karner T , Anderson-Wagner I, Grander C et al. Revised 16S rRNA V4 hypervariable region targeting primers enhance detection of Patescibacteria and other lineages across diverse environments. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. 2025 Dec 2.

Gorka S, Canarini A, Schmidt H , Kaiser C. Soil bacterial neutral lipid fatty acids: Markers for carbon storage or necromass? Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 2025 Sept 28;208:109855. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109855

Samrat R, Salas E, Fuchslueger L , Schmidt H, Gorfer M, Schagerl M et al. High-resolution lipidomics for decoding the soil biome: Improved lipid annotation, quantitation, and response to climate stress. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 2025 Jun;209:109892. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109892

Dr. Hannes Schmidt

Senior Scientist at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science

Research Profiles

Publications Overview

Research Project

SurfinSoil - Surfaces in soil predict bacterial functioning