Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2017-2018
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
Research Summary:As farmers face increasing drought in the West, we need to determine best practices to maintain yield, including irrigating when crops need water most and improving soil structure through organic amendments. In my research in reduced irrigation corn and wheat fields, we compare traditional manure application versus an innovative charcoal amendment called “biochar”. Similar to charcoal from a fireplace, biochar has tiny pores that can hold water and plant nutrients. When added to soil, this biochar amendments can make water and nutrients more available to the crops, ultimately making food production more efficient and sustainable.