Area of Focus

Soil Microbial Ecology

Research Interests

• Community structure and functional diversity of soil microbial communities in natural and agricultural ecosystems with an emphasis on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
• Spatial and temporal patterns of soil microbial communities and their processes important to plant productivity, soil health and ecosystem sustainability.
• Underlying microbial processes linked to C and N cycling in maize cropping systems subjected to varying N fertilizer input, irrigation, crop rotational diversity and soil management.
• Impact of climate change and extreme events (e.g., fire, drought) on microbial function linked to plant litter decomposition, nutrient cycling and soil organic matter storage.
• Plant-microbe interactions, specifically arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, within the maize rhizosphere and their impact on soil & plant health and productivity.

Courses Taught

• Soil Microbial Ecology – PLAS 460
• Soil Microbial Ecology - AGRO 860