Current Group members

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Principal Investigator

Professor, Soil Biogeochemistry
Falasco Endowed Chair in Earth Sciences
email:aaberhe(at)ucmerced.edu

AA Berhe CV

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 (co-mentored with Steven C. Hart and Michael Goulden)
email:yyang103(at)ucmerced.edu

Research focus: 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.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

Morgan Barnes

PhD Candidate
email:mbarnes7(at)ucmerced(dot)edu

Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced
co-advised by Stephen C. Hart

Research focus: Phosphorous Biogeochemistry, and effect of soil development on biogeochemical cycling of essential elements

Kimber Moreland

PhD Candidate
email: kmoreland(a)ucmerced.edu

Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced

Research focus:Dynamics of deep SOM, and climatic controls on biogeochemical cycling of essential elements

Manisha Dolui

PhD student
email: mdolui(a)ucmerced.edu

Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced

Research focus: Vulnerability of Buried Soil Carbon due to Future Climate Change

Leila Wehab

PhD student
email: lwehab(a)ucmerced.edu

Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced

Research focus: Effect of changing precipitation patterns on Soil organic nitrogen dynamics

Melinda Gonzales

PhD student
email: mgonzales36(a)ucmerced.edu

Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced

Research focus: role of biochar in reducing greenhouse gas fluxes from soil: effects of feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, and effectiveness for reducing methane fluxes form dairy waste.

Former lab group members

Dr. Lixia Jin

Former PhD. Student

Research focus: Role of metal oxides in soil organic matter dynamics, and distribution of natural nano-particulate metal oxides in soil

Dr. Rebecca Abney

Former PhD student

Lateral transport of pyrogenic C with soil erosion, and determining mean residence time of PyC in dynamic hillslopes

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