Prof. Dr. Ingrid Kögel-Knabner
Academic Career and Research Areas
Soil processes and soil management, especially the type and intensity of land use, affect the global carbon cycle. Prof. Kögel-Knabner (b. 1958) investigates the formation, composition and properties of organic matter in soils and their central role in the global carbon cycle. She uses sophisticated spectroscopic methods, such as 13C NMR spectroscopy and nanoSIMS, to investigate the association of organic and mineral matter in soils at the submicron scale.
Prof. Kögel-Knabner studied geoecology at the University of Bayreuth, where she also obtained a doctorate in soil science (1987) and earned her post-doctoral teaching qualification (Habilitation 1992). In 1991, she was appointed to a professorship for soil science and soil ecology at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Since 1995, she has served as Chair of Soil Science at TUM. Prof. Kögel-Knabner is a member of academies (Academia Europaea, Leopoldina, acatech, Bavarian Academy of Sciences) and was member of the Bioeconomy Council of the German Federal Government. Since 2015, she has been on the list of "Highly Cited Researchers", and counts among the most cited scientists in the world.
Awards
- German Environment Award, German Federal Environment Foundation (2019)
- Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (2018)
- Philippe-Duchaufour-Medal, European Geosciences Union (2015)
- Emil-Ramann-Medal, German Soil Science Society (2015)
- Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2013)
Key Publications (all publications)
Vogel C, Mueller CW, Höschen C, Buegger F, Heister K, Schulz S, Schloter M, Kögel-Knabner I: "Submicron structures provide preferential spots for carbon and nitrogen sequestration in soils". Nature Communications. 2014; 5: 2947.
AbstractWiesmeier M, Spörlein P, Geuß U, Hangen E, Haug S, Reischl A, Schilling B, von Lützow M, Kögel-Knabner I: "Soil organic carbon stocks in southeast Germany (Bavaria) as affected by land use, soil type and sampling depth". Global Change Biology. 2012; 18: 2233-2245.
AbstractRumpel C, Kögel-Knabner I: “Deep soil organic matter a key but poorly understood component of terrestrial C cycle”. Plant and Soil. 2011; 338: 143-158.
AbstractKögel-Knabner I, Amelung W, Cao ZH, Fiedler S, Frenzel P, Jahn R, Kalbitz K, Kölbl A, Schloter M: “Biogeochemistry of paddy soils”. Geoderma. 2010; 157: 1-14.
AbstractKögel-Knabner I, Ekschmitt K, Flessa H, Guggenberger G, Matzner E, Marschner B, Von Lützow M: “An integrative approach of organic matter stabilization in temperate soils: Linking chemistry, physics, and biology”. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science. 2008; 171: 5-13.
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