GBI group successfully participated in the General Assembly EGU-2024 with three oral talks including invited and one poster presentation:

M. Dippold (invited):  Metabolic responses to hotspot-forming processes: growth modes and their ecological consequences

G. Shao Using metabolic flux modeling to disentangle anabolic and catabolic contributions to soil heat dissipation 

N. Bilyera Soil zymography: a decade in microbial hotspot imaging and future challenges

I. Loginova How biochar suspension influences soil microbial activity and phosphorus availability 

GBI group underwent an “on-hands fire safety training on the safe use of fire extinguishers”.

The aim of the visit was to buildup a strategic partnership initiated by Prof. Xiaohong Tian, dean of Northwest A&F University (China). The Chinese team presented institutions and scientific profiles  and discussed a visit in coming year. They had also a lab tour with a lab manager Callum Banfield. The visit ends with a dinner at Krumme Brücke to sharing cultural experience between German and Chinese scientists.

The members of GBI group participated in the in oral and poster presentations at the Bio-Geosphere Africa Conference 2023: Research for Diversity and Sustainable Development in the Face of Climate Change (BioGARD) organized by University of Hohenheim and the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in Stuttgart-Hohenheim (Germany) between 14th and 15th of September 2023.

Very inspiring final meeting of Robert Bosch Stiftung Junior professorship 2017 took place in Tübingen and online with partners from SEKU, JOOUST & ICRISAT. The program (here) included many talks reporting scientific acquirements of the Junior professorship 2017 and very fruitful discussions on the results, as well as plans for the future cooperation.

The members of GBI group participated at the Deutsche Bodenkunde Gesselschaft meeting with oral and poster presentations.

The delegation from two Chinese universities - Northwest Normal University (Qingfeng Sun and Xuechen Zhang) and Ludong University (Nan Wu and Xiaohung Guo) visited GBI group on Wednesday 16th of August 2023. The visit was in the framework of the project meeting "Rhizolithes: carbonate crystallization controlled by plant type, root ecology and microbiome in various environmental conditions". It is a DAAD exchange project with China initiated by Kazem Zamanian (University of Hannover) and Qingfeng Sun (Northwest Normal University). Chinese colleagues presented their research topics, discussed current challenges in studies of rhizolithes with the GBI group members and visited the labs.

Chinese colleaugues prepared their traditional Dumplings for the celebration of the official start for the 'Year of Rabbit' and shared their traditions with GBI group members.

GBI  group had the Chrismas Party with a traditional German 'Feuerzangenbowle' and many typical dishes from South African, Polish, Chinese, Indian, Nigerian and Ukrainian cuisine.

Prof. Dr. Sandra Spielvogel from the University of Kiel presented a study on the topic: ‘Organic carbon and nutrients in permafrost soils: Storage and cycling under changing climatic conditions and land-use’.

The talk presented the results of many years research on this topic including recently published paper in Nature Communication with the contribution of scientist from GBI group.

Exchange PhD student from China Xi Zhang together with his friends prepared traditional dumplings for his farewell party at GBI group.

Michaela Dippold presented a study on the topic ‘Belowground C allocation of tropical rainforests in response to drought: an ecosystem 13CO2 labeling experiment’ at Joint European Stable Isotope Users group Meeting JESIUM 2022 was held in Kuopio, Finland. The study is a part of a big joint project run in BIOSPHERE 2. Some outcome of this experiment was already published in Science.

Nataliya Bilyera and Iryna Loginova participated in a 7th Symposium on phosphorus in Soils and Plants: Towards a sustainable phosphorus utilization in agroecosystems in Montevideo, Uruguay. This symposium takes place every 4 years and gather scientists working on the topic of phosphorus worldwide. The virtual presentation has been done on the topic: 'Biological transformation of phosphorus in agricultural soil'.

GBI group combined work and  social activity by participation in garden soil sampling.