Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wanek
Professor at the Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research
☎ +43 1 4277 91262
Wolfgang Wanek’s group focuses on the linkage between plant and microbial functioning and terrestrial ecosystem processes. Wanek has long-standing expertise in applying stable isotopes to unravel the role of plants and soil microbes and their interaction in controlling ecosystem processes, from the local to the continental scale.
Research in Wolfgang’s group centres on the biogeochemistry of grasslands and forests in tropical and temperate biomes, with a focus on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (sulfur) cycling in the soil-plant-microbe system. Applying ecophysiological, metabolomics and isotope methods, as well as physicochemical characterization of the respective environments, his group seeks to understand biological and abiotic controls, how ecosystems respond to current and future global change, and how this feeds back on the functioning of ecosystems. His group has pioneered the development of an array of stable isotope-based methods to enable the quantification of gross element cycling processes that previously could not be measured.
Ongoing Research Projects
13.12.2023
13.12.2023
13.12.2023
Selected Publications
- A. Schindlbacher, J. Schnecker, M. Takriti, W. Borken, W. Wanek (2015) Microbial physiology and soil CO2 efflux after 9 years of soil warming in a temperate forest – no indications for thermal adaptation. Global Change Biology 21, 4265–4277.
- PG. Taylor, GP. Asner, K. Dahlin, C. Anderson, DE. Knapp, RE. Martin, J. Mascaro, R. Chazdon, R. Cole, W. Wanek, F. Hofhansl, A. Townsend (2015) Landscape-scale controls on aboveground forest carbon stocks on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. PlosONE 10(6): e0126748
- S. Zechmeister-Boltenstern, KM. Keiblinger, M. Mooshammer, J. Penuelas, A. Richter, J. Sardans, W. Wanek (2015) The application of ecological stoichiometry to plant-microbial-soil organic matter transformations. Ecological Monographs 85: 133-155.
- F. Hofhansl, J. Schnecker, G. Singer, W. Wanek (2015) New insights into mechanisms driving carbon allocation in tropical rainforests. New Phytologist 205: 137–146.
- F. Hofhansl, J. Kobler, J. Ofner, S. Drage, EM. Pölz, W. Wanek (2014) Sensitivity of tropical forest aboveground productivity to climate anomalies in SW Costa Rica. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 28: 1437-1454.
- M. Mooshammer, W. Wanek, I. Hämmerle, L. Fuchslueger, F. Hofhansl, A. Knoltsch, J. Schnecker, M. Takriti, M. Watzka, B. Wild, K. M. Keiblinger, S. Zechmeister-Boltenstern, A. Richter (2014) Adjustment of microbial nitrogen use efficiency to carbon:nitrogen imbalances regulates soil N cycling. Nature Communications 5: article no 3694.
- M. Mooshammer, W. Wanek, Sophie Zechmeister-Boltenstern, A. Richter (2014) Stoichiometric imbalances between terrestrial decomposer communities and their resources: mechanisms and implications of microbial adaptations to their resources. Frontiers in Microbiology 5: article 22.
- R.J.W. Brienen, P. Hietz, W. Wanek, M. Gloor (2013) Oxygen isotopes in tree rings record variation in precipitation 18O and amount effects in the south of Mexico. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 118: 1604-1615.
- P. Hietz, B.L. Turner, W. Wanek, A. Richter, C.A. Nock, S.J. Wright (2011) Pervasive change in the nitrogen cycle in tropical forests. Science 334, 664-666.
Group Members
- MSc Wajdi Allagui
- Dr. Michael Dare Asemoloye
- MSc Sobia Bibi
- Theresa Böckle
- MSc Barira Shoukat Hafiza
- Christin Hristova
- MSc Tao Li
- MSc Yuhua Li
- MSc Xiaofei Liu
- MSc Shenglan Ma
- Dr. Lilian-Lee Müller-Fischer
- Dr. Erika Salas Hernández
- MSc Rahul Samrat
- MSc Ke Shi
- MSc Baorong Wang
- MSc Min Wen
- Dr. Christina Xue Zhijing
Publications
Showing entries 1 - 6 out of 257
Zientek, A., Schagerl, M., Nagy, M., Wanek, W., Heinz, P., Ali, S. S., & Lintner, M. (2024). Effect of micro-plastic particles on coral reef foraminifera. Scientific Reports, 14(1), Article 12423. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63208-3
Knight, C. G., Nicolitch, O., Griffiths, R. I., Goodall, T., Jones, B., Weser, C., Langridge, H., Davison, J., Dellavalle, A., Eisenhauer, N., Gongalsky, K. B., Hector, A., Jardine, E., Kardol, P., Maestre, F. T., Schädler, M., Semchenko, M., Stevens, C., Tsiafouli, M. Α., ... de Vries, F. T. (2024). Soil microbiomes show consistent and predictable responses to extreme events. Nature. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08185-3
Lee, U.-J., Gwak, J.-H., Choi, S., Jung, M.-Y., Lee, T. K., Ryu, H., Imisi Awala, S., Wanek, W., Wagner, M., Quan, Z.-X., & Rhee, S.-K. (2024). "Ca. Nitrosocosmicus" members are the dominant archaea associated with plant rhizospheres. mSphere, Article e0082124. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00821-24
Liu, X., Heinzle, J., Tian, Y., Salas, E., Kwatcho Kengdo, S., Borken, W., Schindlbacher, A., & Wanek, W. (2024). Long-term soil warming changes the profile of primary metabolites in fine roots of Norway spruce in a temperate montane forest. Plant Cell and Environment, 47(11), 4212-4226. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.15019
Tang, S., Pan, W., Zhou, J., Ma, Q., Yang, X., Wanek, W., Marsden, K. A., Kuzyakov, Y., Chadwick, D. R., Wu, L., Gregory, A. S., & Jones, D. L. (2024). Soil nitrogen and phosphorus regulate decomposition of organic nitrogen compounds in the rothamsted experiment. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 196, Article 109502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109502
Liu, X., Tian, Y., Heinzle, J., Salas, E., Kwatcho-Kengdo, S., Borken, W., Schindlbacher, A., & Wanek, W. (2024). Long-term soil warming decreases soil microbial necromass carbon by adversely affecting its production and decomposition. Global Change Biology, 30(6), Article e17379. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17379