Tyler is currently working on a project entitled “How does cattle grazing of corn residues affect the health of soils in the long term?” under the Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience (Undergraduate Research Assistant) program. He is assessing the long-term impact of grazing on irrigated corn residue on soil health indicators using a corn residue grazing experiment in eastern Nebraska.
His research interests include:
- Soil health in integrated crop-livestock systems
- Agroecology
- Bioturbation by soil fauna
- Soil health–invertebrate interactions
Michael joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Fall 2025 as a Graduate Research Assistant (MSc.) in Dr. Humberto Blanco's lab in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Prior to this, he was at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he got his bachelor's in environmental science with a focus on soil science.
At Nebraska, his research focuses on understanding how long-term termination timing influences soil health and crop performance.
His work includes:
- Determine how 12, 13, and 14 years of early and late terminated cover crops affect soil biological properties in rainfed and irrigated no-till systems in eastern Nebraska.
- Assess how cover crop termination timing affects the relationships of soil biological properties with physical and chemical properties.
- Examine how 12, 13, and 14 years of early- and late-terminated cover crops influence cover crop biomass production and corn yield.
Samundra joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Fall 2024 as a Graduate Research Assistant (MSc.) in Dr. Humberto Blanco’s lab in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Prior to this, he was at North Dakota State University, where he studied water quality trends in the Red River Basin.
At Nebraska, his research focuses on improving the health and productivity of environmentally sensitive soils (i.e., sandy and sloping soils) through the application of organic amendments such as biochar and cover crops.
His work includes:
- Assessing the effects of biochar on the soil hydraulic properties of environmentally sensitive soils.
- Impact of biochar and cover crops on crop yield and cover crop biomass in degradation-prone soils in Nebraska.