Kezia Goldmann

Dr. Kezia Goldmann is a Research Associate in the Department of Soil Ecology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Halle (Saale), Germany. She specializes in soil microbiology, microbial community dynamics, and their responses to environmental changes such as land-use intensification, climate stress, and invasive species. Her work focuses on fungal biodiversity, root-microbe interactions, and ecosystem multifunctionality across forest and grassland ecosystems.

Education: PhD in Biology (2016, University of Leipzig); Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Biology (2011 and 2009, University of Leipzig). Current projects include the PhytOakmeter-SP4 initiative on oak microbiome dynamics and contributions to the Biodiversity Exploratories Core Project on microbial biodiversity.

Research Interests: Soil ecology, fungal community assembly, drought impacts on microbiomes, invasive species effects, and the role of biodiversity in stabilizing ecosystem functions. Her studies employ multi-omics approaches and large-scale observational experiments across European forests and grasslands.

Key Findings: Demonstrated that tree diversity and host tree traits strongly influence soil microbial communities (e.g., Prada-Salcedo et al. 2021); shown minimal effects of invertebrate declines on oak-associated microbiomes (Albracht et al. 2025); highlighted invasive earthworms' disruptive impact on soil microbial structures (Ferlian et al. 2024).

Labs/Teams: Core member of the Soil Ecology team led by Prof. Mika Tarkka, contributing to interdisciplinary projects within the UFZ's Ecosystems of the Future research unit. Active in Germany's Biodiversity Exploratories network studying long-term ecological dynamics.