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Matthias C. Rillig

Matthias C. Rillig

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Ecology and Evolution
Germany
2026
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Plant Science and Agronomy
Germany
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Plant Science and Agronomy

D-Index
137
Citations
81049
World Ranking
33
National Ranking
6

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
144
Citations
85662
World Ranking
41
National Ranking
4

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Germany Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in Germany Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Germany Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in Germany Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Germany Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in Germany Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Germany Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in Germany Leader Award
  • 2021 - German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences
  • 2019 - Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA)

Overview

Matthias C. Rillig is affiliated with Freie Universität Berlin in Germany. Their research spans multiple fields within environmental and biological sciences, with a strong focus on soil science, plant science, and ecological interactions. Their main fields of study include Environmental Science and Agricultural and Biological Sciences, supported by substantial contributions to subfields such as Plant Science, Pollution, Ecology, Soil Science, and Nature and Landscape Conservation.

The scientist's research covers key topics involving Microplastics and Plastic Pollution, Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions, Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Recycling and Waste Management Techniques, biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties, and Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology.

Matthias C. Rillig has published extensively in several scientific journals, with frequent publications appearing in:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Environmental Science & Technology
  • New Phytologist
  • Global Change Biology
  • Nature Communications

Recent significant papers authored or co-authored include:

  • The concept and future prospects of soil health, 2020, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
  • Global ecosystem thresholds driven by aridity, 2020, Science
  • Microplastic in terrestrial ecosystems, 2020, Science
  • The interplay between microbial communities and soil properties, 2023, Nature Reviews Microbiology
  • The fungal collaboration gradient dominates the root economics space in plants, 2020, Science Advances

The scientist frequently collaborates with colleagues such as Anika Lehmann, Shin Woong Kim, Yong-Guan Zhu, Yudi M. Lozano, and Eva F. Leifheit, illustrating a consistent network of research partnerships.

Matthias C. Rillig has been recognized through notable awards, including induction into the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2021 for Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences and designation as a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in 2019.

Best Publications

  • Biochar effects on soil biota – A review

    Johannes Lehmann;Matthias C. Rillig;Janice Thies;Caroline A. Masiello

  • Microplastics as an emerging threat to terrestrial ecosystems

    Anderson Abel de Souza Machado;Anderson Abel de Souza Machado;Werner Kloas;Werner Kloas;Christiane Zarfl;Stefan Hempel

  • Mycorrhizas and soil structure

    Matthias C. Rillig;Daniel L. Mummey

  • TRY plant trait database : Enhanced coverage and open access

    Jens Kattge;Gerhard Bönisch;Sandra Díaz;Sandra Lavorel

  • Microplastics Can Change Soil Properties and Affect Plant Performance

    Anderson Abel de Souza Machado;Anderson Abel de Souza Machado;Chung W Lau;Chung W Lau;Chung W Lau;Werner Kloas;Werner Kloas;Joana Bergmann

  • Impacts of Microplastics on the Soil Biophysical Environment

    Anderson Abel de Souza Machado;Anderson Abel de Souza Machado;Chung Wai Lau;Chung Wai Lau;Chung Wai Lau;Jennifer Till;Werner Kloas;Werner Kloas

  • Mycorrhizal responses to biochar in soil – concepts and mechanisms

    Daniel D. Warnock;Johannes Lehmann;Thomas W. Kuyper;Matthias C. Rillig;Matthias C. Rillig

  • Microplastic in Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Soil

    Matthias C. Rillig

  • The concept and future prospects of soil health.

    Johannes Lehmann;Deborah A. Bossio;Ingrid Kögel-Knabner;Matthias C. Rillig

  • Where less may be more: How the rare biosphere pulls ecosystems strings

    Alexandre Jousset;Christina Bienhold;Antonis Chatzinotas;Laure Gallien

  • Choosing and using diversity indices: Insights for ecological applications from the German Biodiversity Exploratories

    E. Kathryn Morris;E. Kathryn Morris;Tancredi Caruso;François Buscot;François Buscot;Markus Fischer

  • Arbuscular mycorrhizae, glomalin, and soil aggregation

    Matthias C. Rillig

  • Global ecosystem thresholds driven by aridity

    Miguel Berdugo;Miguel Berdugo;Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo;Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo;Santiago Soliveres;Rocío Hernández-Clemente

  • Microplastic in terrestrial ecosystems

    Matthias C. Rillig;Anika Lehmann

  • Soil aggregation and carbon sequestration are tightly correlated with the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: results from long-term field experiments

    Gail W. T. Wilson;Charles W. Rice;Matthias C. Rillig;Adam Springer

  • The fungal collaboration gradient dominates the root economics space in plants.

    Joana Bergmann;Alexandra Weigelt;Fons van der Plas;Daniel C. Laughlin

  • Rooting theories of plant community ecology in microbial interactions

    James D. Bever;Ian A. Dickie;Evelina Facelli;Jose M. Facelli

  • Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition

    Eric Allan;Pete Manning;Fabian Alt;Julia Binkenstein

  • Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms

    Matthias C. Rillig;Lisa Ziersch;Stefan Hempel

  • Large contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to soil carbon pools in tropical forest soils

    Matthias C. Rillig;Sara F. Wright;Kristine A. Nichols;Walter F. Schmidt

  • The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and glomalin in soil aggregation: comparing effects of five plant species

    Matthias C. Rillig;Sara F. Wright;Valerie T. Eviner

Frequent Co-Authors

Stavros D. Veresoglou
Stavros D. Veresoglou Freie Universität Berlin
Anika Lehmann
Anika Lehmann Freie Universität Berlin
Stefan Hempel
Stefan Hempel Freie Universität Berlin
Tancredi Caruso
Tancredi Caruso Queen's University Belfast
John N. Klironomos
John N. Klironomos American University of Sharjah
Jeff R. Powell
Jeff R. Powell Western Sydney University
Erik Verbruggen
Erik Verbruggen University of Antwerp
Michael F. Allen
Michael F. Allen University of California, Riverside
Pedro M. Antunes
Pedro M. Antunes Algoma University
Baodong Chen
Baodong Chen Chinese Academy of Sciences

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