
Rhae A. Drijber
Professor
Area of Expertise: Soil and Water Sciences
B.S., Agriculture, University of British Columbia, 1982
M.S., Soil Science, University of British Columbia, 1986
Ph.D., Soil Science, University of Alberta, 1993
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.