Flemming Ekelund

Flemming Ekelund is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen, specializing in Terrestrial Ecology. His research focuses on the complex relationships between organisms and ecosystem functioning, with particular emphasis on soil ecosystems and microbial communities.

Dr. Ekelund's primary research interests include plant-microbiome interactions in modern and ancient barley, interactions between soil microorganisms and plants, the effects of recycling bio-ash from power-plants to forests and fields, and the diversity and activity of heterotrophic protozoa in soil. His work addresses the fundamental challenge of bridging organism-focused ecology with system-functioning ecology, recognizing that a single teaspoon of soil typically contains over 10,000 different species, most unknown to science.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on microbial community dynamics, soil ecology, and plant-microbe interactions. The research spans molecular techniques like DNA metabarcoding and RNA sequencing to field studies examining the impacts of agricultural practices, heavy metals, and soil amendments. His work often employs next-generation sequencing to describe molecular identities of whole communities and manipulates diversity in laboratory ecosystems to examine how different diversities affect ecosystem function.

Dr. Ekelund actively collaborates internationally, with research output showing connections across multiple countries. His laboratory, the Plant Microbiome research group, maintains an active interest in recruiting MSc students for various research projects. The research group employs diverse methodologies including laboratory ecosystem manipulation, next-generation sequencing, and occasionally describes new species when encountering forms unknown to science.