Matthias Rillig’s lab at Freie Universität Berlin is part of the Institute of Biology and the Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB).

Our research focus is on soil ecology and global change biology, with most people in the lab working on fungi. We work with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and also saprobic fungi.

Interested in learning about the soil and its biodiversity? Tune in to our podcast ‘Life in the Soil’.

Interessiert mehr über das Bodenleben auf deutsch zu erfahren? “Mutter Erde”, erschienen 25.9.2025 im Ullstein Verlag, geschrieben mit Jörg Blech.

Some examples of research we currently pursue:

• ecological synthesis (e.g., using meta-analytical techniques and systematic mapping)
• soil biodiversity in general
• biodiversity and community ecology of of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, using methods of molecular ecology, for example in agroecosystems
• soil biota effects on plants and plant communities
• trait-based approaches in fungi, for example using saprobic fungi as model systems to test ecological principles
• understanding impacts of global change drivers on soil processes and soil biodiversity (see former ERC Advanced Grant), including work on microplastic in soil, and work on multiple drivers of global change