Rajasekaran Murugan

Dr. Rajasekaran Murugan is a Researcher at the Institute of Zoology within the Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). His work focuses on soil biodiversity, sustainable agricultural practices, and soil organic carbon dynamics. With an international research background including positions at Bioversity International in India, University of Kassel in Germany, and Université de Rennes 1 in France, Dr. Murugan contributes significantly to soil science and sustainable agriculture research.

His educational background includes a Doctoral thesis in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Kassel (2010-2012), an MSc in International Organic Agriculture, and undergraduate studies in Agricultural Sciences. His research interests span soil biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, organic farming systems, soil organic carbon dynamics, earthworm ecology, microbial ecology, and alpine ecosystem studies.

Dr. Murugan's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to soil science, with recent work focusing on meta-analyses of cover crop effects on soil organic carbon, soil biodiversity monitoring across Europe, and the relationship between microbial communities and soil carbon cycling. His research shows particular strength in integrating field studies with meta-analytical approaches to address questions of soil health and carbon sequestration across European agricultural landscapes.

As a Project Leader for the European Commission-funded project "Modelling and mapping soil biodiversity patterns and functions across Europe" (2021-2025), Dr. Murugan secures significant research funding and collaborates internationally. He also serves as a Sub Project Leader for the Austrian soil biodiversity monitoring project "BodenBiodiv" and contributes to the EJP SOIL initiative focused on climate-smart sustainable agricultural soil management.

Dr. Murugan actively supervises doctoral students, currently guiding Julia Fohrafellner's research on soil organic carbon in agriculture. His community service includes extensive peer review activities for numerous high-impact journals including Frontiers in Microbiology, Nature Communications, and Soil Biology and Biochemistry, demonstrating his standing within the soil science research community.