Author: clazcano

Luisa Robles will be starting a MSc at Penn State this August to study temporal variability in soil health. She will be working under the supervision of Dr. Many Ann Bruns and Dr. Estelle Coradeau. Luisa started working with the lab back in January 2021 as an undergraduate student assistant and then continued to be our Junior Specialist for one more year after graduating in 2022. Upon graduation, she received a Citation for Outstanding Performance in Environmental Science and Management and a Department Citation in Land, Air, and Water Resources. During her time at the lab she also presented at two conferences and was awarded with the best poster at the 2021 SSSA diversity student poster competition. We are looking forward to seeing her achievements in her new role as a graduate student! Go Luisa!! 

Huge Congratulations to Courtney Emerson for finishing her Master’s.
Courtney investigated changes in soil biochemical properties in processing tomatoes grown under deficit irrigation. Deficit irrigation is a water conservation practice that has increased in use due to the threat of drought, but its long-term impact on soil health remains unclear. The project found no evidence that deficit irrigation could harm the agricultural production of processing tomatoes in California or negatively impact soil physical properties, but more research should be done to determine how spatial variability of biological properties affects the soil within the context of soil health and carbon sequestration.

 

Summer in Davis means tomato season. This week the team was out early in the field to collect soil and rhizosphere samples. In this trial, we are evaluating the response  of the soil microbiome to a biostimulant.

Zeke and Laibin (Rodrigues Lab) collect rhizosphere samples

Zeke (Rodrigues Lab) holding a tomato root sample

Nono, Anna and Erika (Lazcano Lab) taking soil samples

Established in 1992, Professors for the Future (PFTF) is a year-long competitive fellowship program designed to recognize and develop the leadership skills of outstanding graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who have demonstrated their commitment to professionalism, integrity, and academic service. The program is designed to prepare UC Davis doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars for an increasingly competitive marketplace and a rapidly changing university environment.

Congratulations Noely!

The Soil Biodiversity and Health Lab will be leading the charge to assess the potential of healthy soils to contribute to the sustainability of groundwater and irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions of western US. We will assess how sustainable and regenerative soil management practices such as cover cropping build carbon and soil health with benefits for soil drivers of groundwater recharge and drought resilience to improve sustainability of western US agroecosystems. This research will be carried out within the context of a $10M USDA NIFA grant awarded to Associate Professor Isaya Kisekka. We will be looking for a postdoctoral scholar to work with us on this multidisciplinary project. More info here.

Professor Isaya Kisekka and students measure soil moisture content at the UC Davis Agricultural Research Farm in 2018. (Source: https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/uc-davis-lead-groundwater-and-irrigated-agriculture-sustainability-study)

👏 🥇Congratulations to Noelymar González for obtaining a Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Award to support her work on vineyard soil health!! 🍇