Gerhard Rambold
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{{Primary sources|date=June 2025}}
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{{Infobox academic
| name = Gerhard Walter Rambold
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1956}}
| birth_place = Pocking, Lower Bavaria, Germany
| nationality =
| occupation = Mycologist and lichenologist
| title =
| awards =
| website =
| education = Diploma in Biology
PhD in Systematic Botany
Habilitation in Systematic Botany
| alma_mater = Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich)
| thesis_title = A monograph of the saxicolous lecideoid lichens of Australia (excl. Tasmania)
| thesis_url = https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1571935
| thesis_year = 1989
| workplaces = University of Bayreuth (UBT)
International Training Centre for Environmental Research (ITCER)
}}
Gerhard Walter Rambold (born 1956) is a German mycologist and lichenologist whose research covers the ecological, morphological, and taxonomic roles of fungal communities, particularly focusing on lichenized and non-lichenized fungi. He is professor emeritus at the University of Bayreuth and at the International Training Centre for Environmental Research (ITCER).{{cite web|url=https://itcer.org/|title= International Training Centre for Environmental Research}}{{cite web|url=https://www-mycology-uni--bayreuth-de.translate.goog/mycology/de/mitarbeiter/mit/mitarbeiter_detail.php?id_obj=14072&_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc|title=Prof. em. Dr. Gerhard Rambold}}
Rambold's work contributes to the understanding of fungal symbioses and interactions in various ecosystems, with numerous taxon names authored. The genus Ramboldia, circumscribed in 1994 by Gintaras Kantvilas and John Alan Elix, was named in his honor.{{cite web|url=https://www.calflora.net/southafrica/1P-S.html|title=The Eponym Dictionary of Southern African Plants Plant Names P-S }}{{cite web|url=https://ia600206.us.archive.org/19/items/lichens_michigan/lichens_michigan.pdf|title=LICHENS OF THE SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN REGION}}
Rambold is the author of Bibliotheca Lichenologica Volumes 34 (1989) and 48 (1992), co-written with Dagmar Triebel, and has written or co-written more than 100 papers on mycology, lichenology, and ecoinformatics. He is the Section Editor for Mycological Progress{{cite web|url=https://link.springer.com/journal/11557/editorial-board|title=Mycological Progress - Editorial Board}} and MycoKeys.{{cite web|url=https://mycokeys.pensoft.net/browse_journal_groups.php?role_id=3&journal_name=mycokeys&lang=&journal_id=11&grp_id=0&p=3|title=Subject Editors - MycoKeys}}
Early life and education
Rambold pursued an academic career in biology, focusing on taxonomy and biological informatics, earning his Diploma in Biology from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich) in 1983, followed by his PhD in Systematic Botany in 1989. In 1993, he received his Habilitation in Systematic Botany, extending his research into fungal systematics and ecology.{{cite web|url=https://opendata.uni-halle.de/bitstream/1981185920/92055/1/schlechtendalia_volume_23_1848.pdf|title=Lichenology in Germany: Past, present and future}}
Career
Rambold's PhD thesis on Australian lichens laid the foundation for his contributions to taxonomy and ecology. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with scientists, including J.A. Elix, G. Kantvilas, Thomas Hawkes Nash III, and Thorsten H. Lumbsch.
Rambold began his academic career as a research associate at the Botanische Staatssammlung München from 1984 to 1989, and continued in this role while working at LMU Munich from 1990 to 1995. Between 1995 and 1998, he held a Heisenberg Fellowship at LMU Munich.{{cite web|url=https://gepris-extern.dfg.de/gepris/person/1401060?language=en|title=DFG - Project Details}} From 1999 to 2022, he served as a University Professor for Mycology at the University of Bayreuth,{{cite web|url=https://www.pflanzenphysiologie.uni-bayreuth.de/pflanzenphysiologie/en/mitarbeiter/mit/mitarbeiter_detail.php?id_obj=14072|title=Gerhard Rambold - Department of Plant Physiology Profile}} during which time he was dean of study affairs from 2006 to 2009 and head of the Central Laboratory for DNA Analytics and Ecoinformatics from 2006 to 2015.
In addition, he held an appointment as the head of the Department of Mycology there{{cite web|url=https://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/bayceer/en/mitarbeiter/mit/mitarbeiter_detail.php?id_obj=14072|title=BayCEER - Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research - Prof. em. Dr. Gerhard Rambold}} and continued his work at the ITCER as an emeritus in 2022.
Research contributions
=Lichenized and non-lichenized fungi=
Rambold's career began with a focus on lichenized fungi, examining their taxonomy, morphology, and ecological roles. His early research on Australian lichens resulted in his PhD thesis, "A Monograph of the Saxicolous Lecideoid Lichens of Australia (excl. Tasmania)," completed in 1989 under Hannes Hertel.{{cite web|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1571935|title=A monograph of the saxicolous lecideoid lichens of Australia (excl. Tasmania) / by Gerhard Rambold}} Additionally, his 1992 publication on Inter-lecanoralean associations has contributed to the concept of lichens as multi-biont systems, supporting the broader view of lichens as ecological communities with diverse interactions.{{cite web|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/lichenologist/article/abs/interlecanoralean-associations-by-rambold-gerhard-triebel-dagmar-bibliotheca-lichenologica-no-48-berlin-stuttgart-jcramer-1992-pp201-34-figures-6-tablesisbn-3-443-58027-0-price-dm-90/D4F3DB9DCBB8FAD9C8CAE37CF9C7B98D|title=The Inter-Lecanoralean Associations. By Rambold Gerhard & Triebel Dagmar [Bibliotheca Lichenologica, No. 48]. Berlin & Stuttgart: J.Cramer 1992. Pp.201, 34 figures, 6 tables.ISBN 3 443 58027 0. Price DM 90.}}
Throughout his career, Rambold has described multiple new species, adding to the understanding of lichen diversity and the relationships that define lichenized fungi.{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PNRqDxwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra|title=Gerhard Rambold - Google Scholar Profile}} From 1982 to 2006, he primarily gathered both lichenized and non-lichenized, including extremophilic ascomycetes in regions such as Central Europe, the Canary Islands, Australia, Southern Africa, and the United States (specifically Arizona). His research on lichen metabolites has also shown how these compounds influence the global distribution of lichens, affecting their ecological adaptability and roles.{{cite web|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13930|title=Chemical properties of key metabolites determine the global distribution of lichens}}
=Fungal communities and mycobiomes=
Building on his early taxonomic work, Rambold expanded his studies to fungal communities or mycobiomes, exploring fungi associated with plants, invertebrates, soil, and microplastics.{{cite web|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13225-015-0324-y|title=Fungal diversity notes 1–110: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions to fungal species}}{{cite web|url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/628867/|title=Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653523032952|title=Setting new standards: Multiphasic analysis of microplastic mineralization by fungi}} His research has highlighted the role of microplastics in accumulating fungal pathogens and the ways in which fungal communities colonize these synthetic substrates,{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-92405-7|title=Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems}} which have been featured in Phys.org{{cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2021-07-pathogenic-fungi-colonize-microplastics-soils.html|title=Pathogenic fungi colonize microplastics in soils}} and SciDev.Net.{{cite web|url=https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/multimedia/plastic-debris-in-soil-aids-growth-of-dangerous-fungi/|title=Plastic debris in soil aids growth of dangerous fungi}} With his collaborators, he showed how polymer properties of microplastics shape microbial community assembly and succession, offering insights into how environmental pollutants influence ecosystem dynamics.{{cite web|url=https://enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1462-2920.16234|title=Microplastic polymer properties as deterministic factors driving terrestrial plastisphere microbiome assembly and succession in the field}}
Contributions to biological informatics
Rambold has made contributions to biological informatics as well, co-founding the Diversity Workbench with Triebel and Gregor Hagedorn.{{cite web|url=http://www.gbif-mycology.de/Structure/DivWorkbench.html|title=Project: Diversity Workbench}} He was involved in a collaborative project that led to the launch of DiversityNaviKey (DNK), a diagnostic tool for biology and related sciences built on the Diversity Workbench database, enabling interactive identification of organisms and other research entities based on predefined properties.{{cite web|url=https://snsb.de/en/diversitynavikey/|title=SNSB develops new diagnostic app for natural science objects}}{{cite web|url=https://dl.gi.de/items/24f2cfa5-71c6-4c33-848a-cea3b4236463|title=DiversityNaviKey, a Progressive Web Application for interactive diagnosis and identification}} Together with Reinhard Agerer, he also developed DEEMY, a resource for studying mycorrhizal fungi.{{cite web|url=https://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/bayceer/en/forschung/proj/detail.php?id_obj=96348|title=DEEMY – An Information System for Determination and Characterisation of Ectomycorrhizae}}{{cite web|url=http://www.deemy.de/About/History.cfm|title=History - DEEMY}} Furthermore, he is the lead editor of the LIAS (Lichen Information System) which provides an accessible resource for lichenology, with periodic updates reflecting new data and insights.{{cite web|url=http://www.lias.net/About/Impressum.cfm|title=LIAS Imprint}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lias.net/About/History.html|title=History - LIAS }}
Selected publications
- Rambold, G., Bensch, K., Kirk, P. M., Yao, Y.-J., Robert, V., Triebel, D. (2018). Proposal to recommend the use of an identifier as an alternative to the citation of the authors of fungal names. IMA Fungus, 9(1), i–vii.
- Peršoh, D., Stolle, N., Brachmann, A., Begerow, D., Rambold, G. (2018). Fungal guilds are evenly distributed along a vertical spruce forest soil profile while individual fungi show pronounced niche partitioning. Mycological Progress, 17(8), 925–939. doi:10.1007/s11557-018-1405-6
- Gkoutselis, G. M., Rohrbach, S., Harjes, J., Obst, M., Brachmann, A., Horn, M., Rambold, G. (2021). Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-92405-7
- Schweiger, A., Ullmann, M., Nürk, N. M., Triebel, D., Schobert, R., Rambold, G. (2021). Chemical properties of key metabolites determine the global distribution of lichens. Ecology Letters, 25, 416–426. doi:10.1111/ele.13930
- Triebel, D., Grunz, A., Seifert, S., Link, A., Rambold, G. (2021). DiversityNaviKey, a Progressive Web Application for interactive diagnosis and identification. Lecture Notes in Informatics (LNI), Gesellschaft für Informatik, 517–538. doi:10.18420/informatik2021-040
- Flessa, F., Harjes, J., Cáceres, M., Rambold, G. (2021). Comparative analyses of sooty mould communities from Brazil and Central Europe. Mycological Progress, 20, 869–887. doi:10.1007/s11557-021-01700-0
- Krasylenko, Y., Kinge, T. R., Sosnovsky, Y., Atamas, N., Tofel, K. H., Horielov, O., Rambold, G. (2022). Consuming and consumed: Biotic interactions of African mistletoes across different trophic levels. Biotropica, 54(4), 1103–1119. doi:10.1111/btp.13130
References
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Category:German lichenologists
Category:Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni