Aarhus University Seal

Microbial processes and diversity

Our planet is populated by an immense number of microorganisms. Their activities are essential for the global cycling of elements and the functioning and health of ecosystems and organisms – from plants to humans. In addition, we depend on the activities and products of microorganisms in a multitude of industrial processes including water treatment, energy production, food production and biotechnology.

At Department of Biology, we study the mechanistic details of microbial processes in natural and engineered environments and the biology of the microorganisms that drive them. Such knowledge is fundamental for understanding how element cycles respond to perturbation like climate change and how to manipulate engineered environments to control a given process like e.g. promoting nitrogen removal during wastewater treatment or limiting sulfide production in sewer and oil field systems.

Our research spans all biological levels from single organisms to communities and single ecosystems to global element cycles.

Contact a researcher in Microbial processes and diversity

Trine Bilde

Professor, Centre Director

Research areas

Behaviour and etology
Spiders
Evolution
Genetics
Population biology
Selection
Ecology
Zoology

Hans Brix

Head of Department, Professor

Research areas

Freshwater biology
Waterlogged soils
Wetlands
Wastewater purification
Constructed wetlands
Sludge Treatment Reed Beds
Willow systems
Ecophysiology of plants
Nutrient uptake
Effects of anoxia
Photosynthesis
Climatic changes
Methane emission
Carbon sequestration

Research areas

Microbiology
Sensor technologies
Sensor systems and applications
Modeling and Simulation

Research areas

Astrobiology
Mars
Microbial processes and substance cycles
Ice-nucleating proteins
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Aeromicrobiology

Research areas

Microbial ecology
Marine ecosystems
Microbial processes and substance cycles
Sulfur cycle
Methane cycle
Marine biogeochemistry
Nutrient turnover in seabed

Research areas

Biodiversity
Genetics and molecular evolution
Genome Analysis
Microbiology
Molecular microbiology

Research areas

Sensor technologies
Biomonitoring
Analytical chemistry
Oxygen
Environmental chemistry

Research areas

Microbial processes and substance cycles
Geomicrobiology
Diagnostic biomolecules
Deep biosphere
Marine sediments

Research areas:

  • Microbial genomics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Sediment microbiology
  • Microbial ecology

Research areas

Nanotechnology and Nanoscience
Microbiology
Bacterial adhesion
Environmental Microbiology
Bacteria
Biofilm
Atomic force microscopy (AFM)
Food safety
Nanobiotechnology
Scanning probe microscopy (SPM)

Lars Peter Nielsen

Professor, head of center

Research areas

Microbial processes and substance cycles
Cable bacteria
Electromicrobiology

Research topics:

(1) Impact of environmental factors and biogeochemical processes on nutrient and carbon retention and export in stream ecosystems
(2) Impact of climate change on Arctic stream ecosystem functioning 
(3) Biogeochemical links between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
(4) Macrophyte and biofilm ecology

Research areas:

  • Cycles of elements: sulfur, nitrogen, carbon
  • Aquatic microbial ecology
  • Modelling

Research areas:

  • Understanding of Arctic systems
  • Marine ecology
  • Oceanography
  • Sea ice and glaciers

Research areas:

  • Biogeochemistry
  • Microbial ecology

Research areas:

  • Aero-microbiology (atmospheric microbiology)
  • Microbial ice nucleation
  • Microbial airborne dispersal (pathogen airborne dispersal)
  • Biogeography
  • Polar microbiology

Andreas Schramm

Professor, Vice Head of Center

Research areas

Microbiology
Environmental Microbiology
Molecular Microbial Ecology
Bacteria
Symbiosis
Biodiversity
Ecology
Evolution
Molecular microbiology

Research areas

Wetlands
Restoration
Greenhouse gases
Carbon
Arctic Ocean
Primary production
Sea ice
Light
Algae
Photosynthesis
Light
Ecophysiology of plants
Carbon assimilation
Gas exchange
Nutrients

Research group in Microbial processes and diversity