Crops & Soil

The skin of weathered rock on our planet is a complex, heterogenous matrix which supplies food to most life on earth either directly or indirectly. The study of soils encompasses a wide range of scales, from the billions of diverse microorganisms in a spoonful of soil to the arrangement of soil pedons in the landscape.

We focus on key biological, chemical and physical processes occurring in the soil matrix, as well as soil interactions with other key components (atmosphere, water, and vegetation) of the earth system. Understanding the cycling, storage and losses of carbon and mineral elements in soils is critical for mitigating effects of global climate change and the environmental impacts of human activities. Soil also plays a key role in the partitioning and regulation of water flow and the transport and surface exchange of greenhouse gases.

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Biogeochemistry

Biogeochemistry

Our research focuses on understanding the biogeochemical cycles governing the fate and behavior of chemicals in the environment and, ultimately, the composition of our soils, atmosphere, and water. We are quantifying how changes in climate, land use, and agricultural management practices affect the cycling of carbon, nutrients, contaminants, and water at local, regional, and global scales. We are addressing such questions as: How can we continue to intensify crop production to meet a growing global demand for food and fiber while preserving the quality of soil, water, and air? How do we grow biofuel crops while maintaining food security and freshwater resources, and minimizing carbon and nitrogen losses from the landscape? How do different land uses and cropping systems affect the net flux of greenhouse gases and the storage or loss of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus from soils?

Affiliated Faculty

  • Brent Dalzell
  • Melinda Erickson
  • Gary Feyereisen
  • Timothy Griffis
  • Satoshi Ishii
  • Kurt Spokas
  • Jeff Strock
  • Brandy Toner
  • Rodney Venterea
  • Kyungsoo Yoo

Crops

Crops

Terrestrial vegetation is one of earth's most vital natural resources. Crops provide food, fiber, and fuel that sustain human life, while native vegetation preserves biodiversity, builds and protects soil, and plays a key role in the water cycle. Human impacts on earth systems are often mediated by vegetation, through land cover conversion, cultivation of crops and transport of organisms around the globe. Besides the obvious value of crops, vegetation can also provide ecosystem services including erosion control, storage and filtration of water, wildlife habitat, and aesthetic appeal. Vegetation also plays a key role in the transfer of material between the atmosphere, soil and water bodies.

Our program focuses on the interactions between vegetation and other critical components of the earth system. Our work ranges from evaluating impacts of crop management on productivity and environmental quality at the field scale to modeling impacts of large-scale land use changes, like deforestation and biofuel production. We also investigate the impacts of global climate change on managed and natural vegetation in our region.

Affiliated Faculty

  • John Baker
  • Adam Birr
  • Fabián Fernández
  • Gary Feyereisen
  • Daniel Kaiser
  • Paulo Pagliari
  • Carl Rosen
  • Albert Sims

Environmental Chemistry

Environmental Chemistry

Environmental chemistry research in the department of Soil, Water, and Climate seeks to: identify emerging environmental challenges, and understand the fundamental processes underlying these challenges; provide sound mechanistic information about existing issues; understand natural processes affecting contaminants; and evaluate strategies for solutions to environmental changes.

Affiliated Faculty

  • Peter Neff
  • Pamela Rice
  • Carl Rosen
  • Brandy Toner

Land Use and Land Cover Change

Land Use and Land Cover Change

Through analyzing how land is currently used and trends in use, we are quantifying the effects to ecosystem dynamics, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and energy across the landscape and between the surface and the atmosphere. How are we using land here in Minnesota and globally? Where are we converting land from one use to another and what are the consequences? How does land use and land cover change affect local, regional, and global scale budgets of energy, water, carbon, and nitrogen?

Affiliated Faculty

  • Adam Birr
  • Joseph Knight
  • David Mulla 

Nutrient Management

Nutrient Management

Nutrient management research in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate is focused on developing strategies to improve nutrient use efficiency for crop production. A primary goal is to optimize crop yield and quality using appropriate nutrient inputs while minimizing effects on the environment. Faculty research efforts in this area include soil test calibration, plant analysis interpretation, modeling, and evaluation of nutrient source, rate, placement, and timing effects on crop response as well as nutrient losses to surface water, ground water, and the atmosphere. Interactions of nutrient management with crop genetics, tillage practices, manure management, pest management, drainage, and irrigation are also important areas of investigation.

Affiliated Faculty

  • Adam Birr
  • Fabián Fernández
  • Daniel Kaiser
  • Yuxin Miao
  • David Mulla 
  • Paulo Pagliari
  • Lindsay Pease
  • Carl Rosen
  • Albert Sims
  • Melissa Wilson

Pedology

Pedology

Pedology research in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate seeks to understand the relationship between soils and landscapes and their effects on land use practices. Research topics include the use of GIS and digital terrain models to understand soil-landscape relations; soil genesis and Quaternary landscape evolution; wetland soils and hydric soil interpretations; landscape-scale biogeochemistry; and development of interpretations for a variety of land uses.

Affiliated Faculty

  • Jay Bell
  • Nic Jelinski
  • Kyungsoo Yoo

Precision Agriculture

Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture is customized management of small homogeneous sub-areas within producer's fields. In simple terms, precision agriculture is doing the right management at the right place and right time. Precision agriculture uses information technologies and information management tools to optimize agricultural management. Management is tailored to spatial and temporal variability in crop yield, nutrients, soil water, weeds and pests, and environmental risks. Precision agriculture helps improve the use efficiency of management inputs, increases farm productivity and profitability, and reduces environmental risks. Faculty and graduate students in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate use and develop innovative information technologies and statistical techniques to study spatial and temporal variability in crop yield and quality, soil and landscape attributes, and precision crop management practices.

Affiliated Faculty

  • Fabian Fernandez
  • Dan Kaiser
  • Yuxin Miao
  • David Mulla
  • Carl Rosen

Soil Environmental Microbiology

Soil Environmental Microbiology

Soil environmental microbiology research in the the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate centers around the understanding of the structure and function of soil microorganisms that are involved the processes of Nitrogen Fixation, Biodegradation and Bioremediation of recalcitrant organic and inorganic compounds. Faculty research is also directed at using genomic, molecular, and classical methods to examine the interactions of soil microorganisms with their abiotic and biotic components of soil ecosystems at both the basic and applied levels.

Affiliated Faculty

  • Jessica Gutknecht
  • Satoshi Ishii
  • Michael Sadowsky

Soil Physics

Soil Physics

Soil physics is the study of soil physical properties and processes. Soil physics deals with the dynamics of physical soil components and their phases as solids, liquids, and gases. It draws on the principles of physics, physical chemistry, engineering, and meteorology. Soil physics applies these principles to address practical problems in agriculture, ecology, and engineering. Recent projects include transport and surface exchange of greenhouse gases (nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, methane), impacts of conventional and organic cropping system on soil properties, and role of unsaturation on shear strength and resilient modulus of pavement materials.

Affiliated Faculty

  • David Mulla 
  • Kurt Spokas
  • Jeff Strock
  • Rodney Venterea