Mathias Mayer

Research Focus

I am a forest ecologist focusing on soil carbon and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. My research aims to understand how natural disturbances, forest management, and climate change affect these cycles. I am interested in soil microbial communities, especially fungi, and their role in plant-soil interactions and ecosystem functioning. My research combines laboratory and field experiments, meta-analyses, and modelling. I use stable isotope-based methods, carbon flux measurements and DNA-based techniques.
I have been involved in research projects on windthrow, bark beetle outbreaks and clearcutting in the European Alps, forest harvesting intensities in the Dinaric Mountains, insect outbreaks in northern Scandinavia, and drought in the Himalayas.