Principal Investigator`
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
Associate Professor, Soil Biogeochemistry
Life and Environmental Sciences
University of California, Merced
AABerhe CV
email: aaberhe(at)ucmerced(dot)edu
Researchers
Fernanda Santos
Postdoc
email:fsantos4(at)ucmerced.edu
Research focus: Dynamics of pyrogenic carbon in soil, effect of combustion temperature on composition of dissolved organic matter in fire affected systems
https://www.fsantosresearch.com
Yang Yang
Postdoc
email: yyang103(at)ucmerced(dot)edu
biogeochemical cycles (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, mercury) in forest and freshwater ecosystems; Uncertainty analysis in ecosystem studies.
https://yangyang48.wixsite.com/research
Kyungjin Min 
Postdoc
email: kmin4(at)ucmerced(dot)edu
I am broadly interested in how the biotic (e.g., microorganisms, plants) and abiotic (e.g., minerals, temperature, pH, nutrient availability) interactions influence biogeochemical cycles in soil. At UCM, I investigate how deeply rooted plants affect deep soil organic matter storage and stabilization
Current students
Lixia Jin
Ph.D. student
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced
email: ljin3(at)ucmerced(dot)edu
Research focus: Role of metal oxides in soil organic matter dynamics, and distribution of natural nano-particulate metal oxides in soil
Morgan Barnes
PhD student
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced
co-advised by Stephen C. Hart
email:mbarnes7(at)ucmerced(dot)edu
Research focus: Phosphorous Biogeochemistry, and effect of soil development on biogeochemical cycling of essential elements
Kimber Moreland
PhD student
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced
email:kmoreland(a)ucmerced.edu
Research focus:Dynamics of deep SOM, and climatic controls on biogeochemical cycling of essential elements
Manisha Dolui
PhD student
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced
email:mdolui(a)ucmerced.edu
Research focus: Vulnerability of Buried Soil Carbon due to Future Climate Change
Leila Wehab
PhD student
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced
email:lwehab(a)ucmerced.edu
Research focus: Effect of changing precipitation patterns on Soil organic nitrogen dynamics
Melinda Gonzalez
PhD student
email: 
role of biochar in reducing greenhouse gas fluxes from soil: effects of feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, and effectiveness for reducing methane fluxes form dairy waste
Visiting Scholar
Chun Liu
Email: cliu90(at)ucmerced.edu / lspring(at)hnu.edu.cn
Hunan University (China) and State Key Lab of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau (China)
Current work: Source identification and ecological effect of eroded sediment organic carbon using multiple fingerprinting approach in small watershed of loess plateau of China.
Veronika Ullman
Email: vullman(at)ucmerced.edu
Visiting student
University in Augsburg, Germany
Current work: Climatic controls on soil phosphorous speciation (with Morgan Barnes)
Ray Alves
Email: ralves(at)ucmerced.edu
Visiting student
University of Brasilia
Current work: Topographic controls on soil organic matter composition in tropical ecosystems
Lab Alumni
Chelsea Arnold
Ph.D. 2014, UC Merced
Environmental Systems Graduate Group
Co-advised by Teamrat A. Ghezzehei
Research focus: Coupled hydrology and biogeochemistry of high elevation meadow soils in the Sierra Nevada
Current: Director of CalTeach Program, School of Natural Sciences, UC Merced
Samuel Negusse Araya
M.Sc. 2014, UC Merced
Environmental Systems Graduate Group
email
Research focus: The effect of combustion temperature on soil and soil organic matter properties
Current: Ph.D Student ES Graduate Group, UC Merced
Erin Stacy
M.Sc. 2012, UC Merced
Environmental Systems Graduate Group
Co-advised by Stephen C. Hart
Research focus: effect of soil erosion on storage and stabilization of soil organic matter in the S. Sierra Nevada
Current: Field Manager for the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory
Michael Kaiser
Former Postdoc (2010-2012)
currently a senior lecturer at University of Kassel, Germany
Research focus: effect of ultrasonication, air-drying rewetting on soil organic matter dynamics; effect of biochar and CaCO3 on soil aggregation
Current Position: Assistant Professor at University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Deoyani V. Sarkhot
Former Postdoc (2009-2010)
Research focus:nutrient enrichment of biochar with flushed dairy manure, effects on soils C and N dynamics
Currently at EcoPro, India
Emma McCorkle
M.Sc. student
Environmental Systems Graduate Group
UC Merced
Co-advised by Stephen C. Hart
Research focus: Using stable isotopes to determine source of organic matter eroded in low-order granitic catchments in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
Current position: Research technician, Reynolds Creek CZO, Moscow, ID
Rebecca Lever
Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced
Research focus: Lateral transport of pyrogenic C with soil erosion, and determining mean residence time of PyC in dynamic hillslopes
Current Position: Postdoc, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Benjamin Sulman
Project scientist
email: sulman@ucmerced.edu
Research focus: Modeling the roles of microbial and mineral processes in soil organic matter formation, stabilization, and decomposition from ecosystem to global scales.Research focus: Effect of drought and variability of soil water input on soil carbon, aggregation, and water holding capacity
Nathaniel Bogie
Postdoc
(Berhe lab and Ghezzehei lab)
email:nbogie@ucmerced.edu
Research focus: Effect of drought and variability of soil water input on soil carbon, aggregation, and water holding capacity
Jesseca Meyer
Former Lab Manager
Current Position: High school Life Science teacher, Atwater, CA
Former Visiting Scholars
Elisabet Nadeu
Visiting Ph.D. Student
Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS), Spain
Sebastian Doetterl
Visiting Postdoc
University of Ghent, Belgium
Yaxian Hu
Visiting Postdoc
University of Basel, Switzerland
Moritz Mainka
Visiting student
University in Augsburg, Germany
Former Undergraduate Assistants
Matthew McClintock
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Currently a graduate student at Oregon State University
Alexander Newman
- Lateral redistribution of Fe and Al oxides by soil erosion
- Storage and stabilization of C in soil
Abigail Dziegiel
Yosemite REU student researcher
Yosemite REU student researcher
Laura Jelpa
Undergraduate lab research assistant
Undergraduate lab research assistant
Intern
Alex Gueorguieva
(El Capitan High School student, Merced)
Research focus: Erosion in fire affected hillslopes
Current: Undergraduate Student at UC Berkeley
