Julia Moll

Dr. Julia Moll is a Scientist at the Department of Soil Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ (UFZ) in Halle/Saale, Germany. She currently holds a Temporary Position for Principal Investigator (DFG SPP 1374) at UFZ since March 2023, following her postdoctoral position from August 2018 to February 2023. Her research is situated within the Ecosystems of the Future research unit, focusing on soil microbial ecology and decomposition processes.

Dr. Moll earned her PhD in the Department for Soil Ecology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, with her thesis titled "Fungi in an arable soil: Resource-related community dynamics, contribution to belowground food web and carbon flow." Prior to her PhD, she completed her Diploma thesis at the Freie Universität Berlin with a major in ecology and minors in microbiology and zoology.

Her research focuses on microbial communities and their contribution to ecosystem processes, particularly examining how land use change and management intensities affect these communities. She employs advanced molecular techniques including Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), Metabarcoding, and qPCR to study fungal, bacterial, and nematode diversity in soil and deadwood ecosystems. Her work bridges the gap between molecular ecology and ecosystem functioning, with particular emphasis on decomposition processes in forest ecosystems.

Dr. Moll's publication record demonstrates a strong focus on deadwood decomposition ecology and the microbial communities associated with this process. Her research spans multiple tree species and examines spatial and temporal patterns in microbial communities. She has made significant contributions to understanding the relationships between fungi, bacteria, and nematodes in deadwood ecosystems, as well as developing molecular methods for studying these complex communities.

As a scientist at UFZ, Dr. Moll contributes to several major research projects including the Biodiversity Exploratories: BELongDead (Multitrophic Functional Diversity and Fungal Functional Diversity). Her current work examines fungal fruiting bodies and wood sampling in long-term deadwood experiments, continuing her longstanding interest in the role of fungi in carbon cycling and decomposition processes.

Dr. Moll is actively involved in mentoring students and welcomes those interested in molecular-ecological research for final theses, internships, and student assistant positions. Her laboratory work combines field sampling with advanced molecular techniques to unravel the complex interactions within soil and deadwood ecosystems.