Dr. Kerstin Michel is Deputy Head of the Unit for Soil Ecology of the Austrian Research Centre for Forests. Her research focus is on the effect of environmental changes – including climate change – on carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils. She also has expertise in the fields of soil microbial ecology (soil microbial community composition, biomass and activity), soil chemistry (heavy metals and nutrients), near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy and modelling. She has participated in several environmental research projects. She received her PhD in soil ecology from the University of Bayreuth, Germany, and the venia legend in soil and environmental chemistry from the University of Kassel, Germany.