Biogeochemical Cycles
Modern agriculture alters natural biogeochemical cycles especially the nitrogen and carbon cycle. In the SAE lab we focus in particular on losses to the atmosphere (via e.g. N2O or CO2) and lateral losses to inland water bodies (via e.g. nitrate or dissolved organic matter) of these major elements.
There is a fine balance between minimizing environmental damage from reactive nitrogen or carbon loss, while maintaining crop productivity. Improving the understanding of these processes helps to adjust the management practices for a sustainable agroecosystem with efficient and closed nutrient cycles.
We study internal recycling of nitrogen in the soil and mechanisms underlying N-losses especially via N2O emissions. Our research takes advantage of innovative, stable isotope-based and genetic methods to study the mechanisms underlying N2O production and consumption in several ecosystems and under various management.