I've got a phone call
I've sort of figured out my research direction, enough to write a one-page statement of research interests I can email to faculty, so they can more easily see what I am interested in.
Organic, sustainable farming systems depend on ecologically-based approaches to farm management. These management practices include the use of organic matter inputs instead of N mineral fertilizer, ecological pest management without use of chemical pesticides, and use of cover crops and crop rotations to manage soil fertility, which would utilize the work of soil microbes.
These methods reduce excess N leaching into the atmosphere and groundwater, reduce ecosystem damage by pesticide use, and organic soils have also been shown to sequester CO2 and N, to aid in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to reduce dependence on N mineral fertilizer, the agroecosystem instead depends on soil microbial activity to (1) prevent nitrate leaching and groundwater contamination by N incorporation into microbial biomass, (2) time-release N in plant bioavailable forms (i.e. through transformation via MB). The system also makes use of cover crops, which fix N and release it into the soil, creating a fertile soil for the next crop.
Of great personal interest to me is the idea that a particular crop species will have an associated ideal microbial community composition, soil type, and cover crop rotation sequence (perhaps influenced by microbial community composition), that would provide the most nutritionally optimal soil for the particular crop species.
That's an excerpt of my statement.
I emailed Stu Pettygrove, soils specialist PhD at Davis, inquiring about whether he was taking new grad students in 2011 and whether I could speak with him on the phone. He was open to a phone call, so I took him up on the offer. I asked 11am, but the email was sent out late on Friday, at around 5p.m. So he probably hasn't gotten it yet.
Anyway, the phone date is promising. I have many questions to ask... Hopefully he is nice and informative.
Now, on to read his paper:
On-Farm Assessment of Soil Quality in California’s Central Valley
Susan S. Andrews,* Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Roberto Mancinelli, Douglas L. Karlen, Timothy K. Hartz,
William R. Horwath, G. Stuart Pettygrove, Kate M. Scow, and Daniel S. Munk
Organic, sustainable farming systems depend on ecologically-based approaches to farm management. These management practices include the use of organic matter inputs instead of N mineral fertilizer, ecological pest management without use of chemical pesticides, and use of cover crops and crop rotations to manage soil fertility, which would utilize the work of soil microbes.
These methods reduce excess N leaching into the atmosphere and groundwater, reduce ecosystem damage by pesticide use, and organic soils have also been shown to sequester CO2 and N, to aid in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to reduce dependence on N mineral fertilizer, the agroecosystem instead depends on soil microbial activity to (1) prevent nitrate leaching and groundwater contamination by N incorporation into microbial biomass, (2) time-release N in plant bioavailable forms (i.e. through transformation via MB). The system also makes use of cover crops, which fix N and release it into the soil, creating a fertile soil for the next crop.
Of great personal interest to me is the idea that a particular crop species will have an associated ideal microbial community composition, soil type, and cover crop rotation sequence (perhaps influenced by microbial community composition), that would provide the most nutritionally optimal soil for the particular crop species.
That's an excerpt of my statement.
I emailed Stu Pettygrove, soils specialist PhD at Davis, inquiring about whether he was taking new grad students in 2011 and whether I could speak with him on the phone. He was open to a phone call, so I took him up on the offer. I asked 11am, but the email was sent out late on Friday, at around 5p.m. So he probably hasn't gotten it yet.
Anyway, the phone date is promising. I have many questions to ask... Hopefully he is nice and informative.
Now, on to read his paper:
On-Farm Assessment of Soil Quality in California’s Central Valley
Susan S. Andrews,* Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Roberto Mancinelli, Douglas L. Karlen, Timothy K. Hartz,
William R. Horwath, G. Stuart Pettygrove, Kate M. Scow, and Daniel S. Munk