Biography
Petr Baldrian studied microbiology at the Faculty of Science of the Charles University in Prague. Currently, he is the head of the Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology of the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. His scientific work focuses on the ecology and biogeography of soil microorganisms, especially the contribution of bacteria and fungi to ecosystem functioning, their interactions with plants and response to climate change. The main studied models are forests soils under various impact of human management and processes ranging from decomposition to greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage. Petr Baldrian teaches several subjects in the field of microbial ecology at the Charles University in Prague and serves as the editor of ISME Journal, Ecology Letters, FEMS Microbiology Ecology and Fungal Ecology. He is a Highly Cited Researcher and elected member of the European Academy of Microbiology, as well as ambassador of the International Society for Microbial Ecology. Between November 2021 and January 2025, he served as the president of the Czech Science Foundation.
