Beate Michalzik

Prof. Dr. Beate Michalzik holds the Professorship for Soil Science at the Institute of Geography, University of Jena. She conducts research on terrestrial ecosystem processes, material cycles, and soil degradation mechanisms across agricultural and forest ecosystems in temperate and (sub)tropical regions.

• Faculty Equal Opportunities Officer since October 2016
• Chair of the Examination Board for the Master's program in Geography
• Former Managing Director of the Institute of Geography (2012-2016)

Research Focus: Studying how disturbances like fire, droughts, and biodiversity changes affect biogeochemical soil cycles, with emphasis on dissolved/particulate organic matter (DOM/POM), soil archaeology, and ecosystem renaturation.

Professional Memberships: European Geosciences Union, American Geophysical Union, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, International Humic Substances Society, German Soil Science Society. She serves as reviewer for journals like Geoderma, Global Change Biology, and institutions including DFG and ERC.