Dr. Markus Maisch

Markus combines experimental environmental geochemistry with the development of technical infrastructure for environmental monitoring and isotope analysis to investigate natural processes in the water and carbon cycles.

After studying geoecology at the University of Tübingen, he worked for several years in the field of geomicrobiology, where he focused on biogeochemical element cycles in sediments, soils, and the rhizosphere. During and after his doctoral research, his work included microbial iron oxidation, phototrophic Fe(II) oxidation, and the analysis of iron and nitrogen cycling in rice paddies and coastal marine systems. Across various projects, he integrated laboratory experiments with field studies and applied analytical methods such as elemental analysis, ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, ion chromatography, and stable isotope techniques.

Markus is the laboratory manager in the Climatology and Biosphere group at the University of Tübingen. In addition to coordinating infrastructure for environmental monitoring, he works on nature-based CO₂ removal strategies such as enhanced weathering, exploring how soils can contribute to long-term carbon sequestration. He develops and oversees long-term monitoring concepts to study climate effects in terrestrial systems and contributes his expertise to academic teaching – for example, in interdisciplinary seminar formats such as the #ZukunftslaborErde project, which connects science, education, and society.

• isotopes
• sustainable pathways

Researchgate

• Nikeleit, V., Maisch, M., Straub, D., Eroglu, S., Lopez-Rivoldi, J.C., Strauss, H., Byrne, J.M., Kappler, A., Bryce, C. (2025): Cryptic iron cycling influenced by organic carbon availability in a seasonally stratified lake. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 101, doi:10.1093/femsec/fiaf029.
• Maisch, M., Nikeleit, V., Lueder, U., Bryce, C., Kappler, A., Byrne, J.M. (2025): Oxidation of Fe(II)-carbonate minerals (siderite) by anoxygenic phototrophic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria. Geo-Bio-Interfaces 2, e9, 1-10, doi:10.1180/gbi.2025.4
• Peiffer, S., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Schmidt, C., Mansor, M., Obst, M., Frei, S. (2024): Kinetic constraints for the formation of microniches for microaerophilic Fe(II) oxidation. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 364, 211-223, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2023.11.006
• Nikeleit, V., Roth, L., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Bryce, C. (2024): Phototrophic Fe(II) oxidation benefits from light/dark cycles. Environmental Microbiology Reports; 16:e13239, doi:10.1111/1758-2229.13239
• Nikeleit, V., Maisch, M., Byrne, J.M., Harwood, C., Kappler, A., Bryce, C. (2024): Phototrophic Fe(II) oxidation by Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 in organic and Fe(II)-rich conditions. Environmental Microbiology 26:e16608, doi:10.1111/1462-2920.16608
• Dorau, K., Uteau, D., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Peth, S., Mansfeldt, T. (2023): Redoxtrons – An experimental system to study redox processes within the capillary fringe. Europ. J. Soil Sci. 74, e13347, doi:10.1111/ejss.13347
• Martens, J., Mueller, C.W., Joshi, P., Rosinger, C., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Bonkowski, M., Schwamborn, G., Schirrmeister, L., Rethemeyer, J. (2023): Stabilization of mineral-associated organic carbon in Pleistocene permafrost. Nature Communications 14:2120, doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37766-5
• Lueder, U., Jørgensen, B.B., Maisch, M., Schmidt, C., Kappler, A. (2022): Influence of light quality, photon flux and presence of oxygen on photoreduction of Fe(III)-organic complexes. Science of the Total Environment 814, 152767, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152767
• Lueder, U., Maisch, M., Jorgensen, B.B., Druschel, G., Schmidt, C., Kappler, A. (2022): Growth of microaerophilic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria using Fe(II) produced by Fe(III) photoreduction. Geobiology, doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12485, doi:10.1111/gbi.12485
• Joss, H., Patzner, M., Maisch, M., Mueller, C., Kappler, A., Bryce, C. (2022): Cryoturbation impacts iron-organic carbon associations along a permafrost soil chronosequence in northern Alaska. Geoderma 413, 115738, doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.115738
• Laufer-Meiser, K., Michaud, A., Maisch, M., Byrne, J.M., Kappler, A., Patterson, M., Røy, H., Jørgensen, B.B. (2021): Potentially bioavailable iron produced through benthic cycling in glaciated Arctic fjords of Svalbard. Nature Communciations 12: 1349, doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21558-w
• Sorwat, J., Mellage, A., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Cirpka, O., Byrne, J.M. (2021): Chromium (VI) removal kinetics by magnetite coated sand: Small-scale flow-through column experiments. Journal of Hazardous Materials 415, 125648, doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125648
• Jakus, N., Mellage, A., Hoeschen, C., Maisch, M., Byrne, J.M., Mueller, C.W., Grathwohl, P., Kappler, A. (2021): Anaerobic neutrophilic pyrite oxidation by a chemolithoautotrophic nitrate-reducing iron(II)-oxidizing culture enriched from a fractured-aquifer. Environmental Science and Technology 55, 9876-9884, doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c02049
• Fritzsche, A., Bosch, J., Sander, M., Schroeder, C., Byrne, J.M., Ritschel, T., Joshi, P., Maisch, M., Meckenstock, R.U., Kappler, A., Totsche, K.U. (2021): Organic matter from redoximorphic soils accelerates and sustains microbial Fe(III) reduction. Environmental Science and Technology 55, 10821-10831, doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c01183
• Koester, M., Kars, M., Schubotz, F., Tsang, M.Y., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Morono, Y., Inagaki, F., Heuer, V.B., Kasten, S., Henkel, S. (2021): Evolution of (Bio-)geochemical Processes and Diagenetic Alteration of Sediments Along the Tectonic Migration of Ocean Floor in the Shikoku Basin off Japan. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 2020GC009585, doi:10.1029/2020GC009585
• Maisch, M., Lueder, U., Kappler, A., Schmidt, C. (2020): From plant to paddy – how rice root iron plaque can affect the paddy field iron cycling. Soil Systems 4, 28, doi:10.3390/soilsystems4020028
• Lueder, U., Maisch, M., Laufer, K., Jørgensen, B.B., Kappler, A., Schmidt, C. (2020): Influence of physical perturbation on Fe(II) supply in coastal marine sediments. Environmental Science and Technology 54, 3209-3218, doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b06278
• Yang, Z., Sun, T., Subdiga, E., Obst, M., Haderlein, S.B., Maisch, M., Kretzschmar, R., Angenent, L., Kappler, A. (2020): Aggregation-dependent electron transfer via redox-active biochar particles stimulates microbial ferrihydrite reduction. Science of the Total Environment 703, 135515, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135515
• Maisch, M., Lueder, U., Kappler, A., Schmidt, C. (2019): Iron Lung – How rice roots induce iron redox changes in the rhizosphere and create niches for microaerophilic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 6, 600-605, doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.9b00403
• Maisch, M., Lueder, U., Laufer, K., Scholze, C., Kappler, A., Schmidt, C. (2019): Contribution of microaerophilic iron(II)-oxidizers to iron(III) mineral formation. Environmental Science and Technology 53, 8197-8204, doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b01531
• Boylan, A.A., Perez-Mon, C., Guillard, L., Burzan, N., Loreggian, L., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Byrne, J.M., Bernier-Latmani, R. (2019): H2-fulled microbial metabolism in Opalinus Clay. Applied Clay Science 174, 69-76, doi:10.1016/j.clay.2019.03.020
• Otte, J., Blackwell, N., Soos, V., Rughoeft, S., Maisch, M., Kappler, A., Kleindienst, S., Schmidt, C. (2018): Sterilization impacts on marine sediment - Are we able to inactivate microorganisms in environmental samples? FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 94, doi:10.1093/femsec/fiy189
• Swanner, E.D. Maisch, M., Wu, W., Kappler, A., (2018): Oxic Fe(III) reduction could have generated Fe(II) in the photic zone of Precambrian seawater. Scientific Reports, 8, 4238, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-22694-y
• Cao, M.J., Qin, K., Li, G.M., Evans, N.J., Hollings, P., Maisch, M., Kappler, A. (2017): Mineralogical evidence for crystallization conditions and petrogenesis of ilmenite-serise I-type granitoids at the Baogutu reduced porphyry Cu deposit (Western Junggar, NW China): Mössbauer spectroscopy, EPM and LA-(MC)-ICPMS analyses. Ore Geology Reviews, 86, 382-403, doi:10.1016/j.oregeorev.2017.02.033
• Maisch, M., Wu, W., Kappler, A., Swanner, E.D. (2016): Laboratory simulation of an iron(II)-rich late Archean marine upwelling system to explore the growth of photosynthetic bacteria. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 113, e54251, doi:10.3791/54251, link to video