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
Publications Overview
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.
Publications
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
Schmider T, Hestnes AG, Brzykcy J, Schmidt H, Schintlmeister A, Roller BRK et al. Physiological basis for atmospheric methane oxidation and methanotrophic growth on air. Nature Communications. 2024 Dec;15(1):4151. Epub 2024 May 16. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48197-1
Guseva K, Mohrlok M, Alteio L, Schmidt H, Pollak S, Kaiser C. Bacteria face trade-offs in the decomposition of complex biopolymers. PLoS Computational Biology. 2024 Aug 8;20(8):e1012320. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012320
Martin V, Schmidt H, Canarini A, Koranda M, Hausmann B, Müller CW et al. Soil cover shapes organic matter pools and microbial communities in soils of maritime Antarctica. Geoderma. 2024 Apr 26;446:116894. Epub 2024 Apr 26. doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116894
Simon E, Guseva K, Darcy S, Alteio L, Pjevac P, Schmidt H et al. Distinct microbial communities are linked to organic matter properties in millimetre-sized soil aggregates. ISME Journal. 2024 Jan 1;18(1):wrae156. doi: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae156