On Dec 21, 2023, Professor Georg Guggenberger, the director of the Soil Research Institute at Leibniz University Hannover in Germany, was invited by the Innovation Team of Improvement and Amelioration of Soil Fertility of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), to conduct academic exchange. He delivered a lecture entitled "Managing soil, soil organic matter and the soil microbiome by catch cropping". The lecture was chaired by researcher Zhang Wenju with the participation of more than 40 scientific researchers and graduate students.

Professor Guggenberger elaborated on the functions of soil organic matter, the impact of climate change on crop yields, and the role of catch cropping in improving soil quality and enhancing nutrient management. He emphasized that diversifying catch crops is beneficial for improving multiple ecosystem services and maintaining sustainable agricultural production. After the lecture, Professor Guggenberger engaged in lively discussions with the participants.

Professor Guggenberger's research primarily focuses on the interactions between soil organic matter and minerals, as well as the impact of these interactions on the stabilization process of soil organic matter. His research combines modern techniques such as microspectroscopy, biomarker methods, and stable isotope techniques. He currently serves as the president of the German Soil Science Society and was selected as part of the "Cultural and Educational Class" of high-level foreign expert teams from 2015 to 2017. He has published over 120 papers in journals such as Nature, Ecology, Environmental Science and Technology, Global Change Biology, and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.