Open PhD project: Fast Microbial Processes and the Long-Term Soil Carbon-Climate Feedback
International Max Planck Research School for Global Biogeochemical Cycles
In cooperation with Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC) houses a unique and flexible research program that grants German and foreign students a broad selection of learning opportunities while still maintaining a research focus. The International Max Planck Research School for Global Biogeochemical Cycles (IMPRS-gBGC) offers a PhD program specializing in global biogeochemistry and related Earth system sciences.
Homepage: https://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/en/imprs
Soil System Sciences (SSS)
Project description
Fast microbial processes, such as microbial acclimation or substrate depletion may play a crucial role in how soils respond to climate change. These processes could provide a self-regulating feedback controlling soil carbon losses in a warmer world – but they are often poorly explored in current soil carbon models, in part due to limited integration of experimental data from soil warming studies and global soil carbon databases.
At the same time, increased vegetation productivity due to the CO2 fertilization effect may increase carbon inputs to the soil. While this could offset soil carbon losses due to climate change via increased carbon inputs, it might also stimulate priming effects, accelerating the microbial decomposition of existing soil carbon. Understanding these competing mechanisms is essential for improving predictions of how soil carbon contributes to the global carbon-climate feedback.
In this project we aim to understand how fast microbial processes affect the long-term soil carbon-climate feedback by combining soil microbial models and vegetation models with machine learning from large-scale soil warming datasets and global soil carbon databases.
Your profile
We welcome applications from curious and motivated students from any country who have
- A master degree in geoecology, environmental sciences, hydrology, mathematics, physics, physical geography, data science, or related fields
- A strong background in at least one of the following: soil biogeochemistry, numerical modelling, or machine learning
- A broad interest in soil processes and curiosity to deepen our understanding of soil organic carbon decomposition and formation.
- Very good oral and written communication skills in English
The Max Planck Society (MPS) strives for gender equality and diversity. The MPS aims to increase the proportion of women in areas where they are underrepresented. Women are therefore explicitly encouraged to apply. We welcome applications from all fields. The Max Planck Society has set itself the goal of employing more severely disabled people. Applications from severely disabled persons are expressly encouraged.
Working group and planned collaborations
The Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena offers an exceptionally dynamic, creative, international, and multidisciplinary working environment. You will join the Modeling Interactions in Soil Systems Group, focusing on the persistence and sensitivity of organic carbon in soils and interactions between biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nutrients, and water. The project is embedded in the MC3 4 Earth Max Planck Center – a collaboration between:
- Max Planck Institute of Biogeochemistry
- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
- California Institute of Technology
- Carnegie Institution for Science (Department of Global Ecology)
- Columbia University.
A confirmed collaboration partner is Alexis Renchon.
For further information, please contact Bernhard Ahrens (bahrens@bgc-jena.mpg.de), Alexander Winkler (awinkler@bgc-jena.mpg.de), Thomas Wutzler (twutz@bgc-jena.mpg.de), Markus Reichstein (mreichstein@bgc-jena.mpg.de).
Application deadline for the fully funded PhD positions is August 5th, 2025. Pre-interviews via web conference will be carried out and promising candidates will be invited to take part in our selection symposium (September 30th – October 1st, 2025).
Find out more and apply online: https://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/en/imprs/career-application
The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.