Expertise:
- Soil classification and mineralogy
My research involves pedology and soil mineralogy. Pedology is the scientific study of soils as a natural body. It includes the study of soil genesis and classification, and applies this knowledge to making soil surveys that are used for land use management and soil conservation. I study soils from the microscopic to the landscape scale. Soil mineralogy studies the different kinds of minerals that make up soils. Soil minerals are important because they control most of the chemical reactions and nutrient exchanges that occur in soils. Soil minerals also exert great influence on soil physical properties, such as surface area.
Current Research Areas:
- Processes of soil genesis
- Soil micromorphology
- Soil characterization
- Paleosols, and the use of paleosols to interpret the past climate record
- Soil mineralogy and clay mineral weathering sequences
- Use of satellite imagery and geographic information systems for soil surveys
- Application of soil survey databases for making land use decisions and crop production modeling
