Welcome
The Graduate Group in Soils and Biogeochemistry, within the Land, Air and Water Resources Department, offers programs of study and research leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Soils and Biogeochemistry focuses on the study of physical, chemical and biological processes that occur in the soils of different landforms and ecosystems. The goal is to understand the complex processes of mass and energy flow that control agricultural and natural ecosystem functions, productivity and sustainability. These studies assess the impacts and implications of natural processes and anthropogenic effects, such as climate change, on soil and ecosystem behavior and development.
Topics include: pesticide and trace element adsorption on surfaces; mineral weathering; fate and transport of native and applied chemicals; soil microbial ecology; fate and emission of greenhouse gases; soil carbon sequestration; nutrient uptake and management; nutrient cycling through managed and wildland ecosystems; organic agriculture; bioavailability of toxics; soil erosion; conservation; ecosystem productivity and sustainability; and the study of soil evolution on the landscape. These studies are carried out within a framework of integrating applied chemical, physical, mathematical, and biological sciences.
The Soils and Biogeochemistry program at UC Davis offers a unique opportunity to learn about soil processes in the diverse regions of California, and their role in agricultural, forest, coastal, wetland and urban ecosystems. Our faculty study the scientific processes that contribute to sustainable land and water resource management. A major emphasis of our group is to encourage interactions, interdisciplinary work, and group activities, such as our two annual field trips. An advanced degree in Soils and Biogeochemistry from UC Davis provides you with the knowledge, contacts, and training necessary to begin a promising career as a researcher, technician, or resource manager in this ever-expanding field.AREAS of CONCENTRATION
Microbial ecology: biodegradation and in situ treatment of contaminated groundwater, molecular methods for characterizing soil microorganisms in diverse ecosystems, responses of microbial communities to ecosystem disturbance and soil management, soil food webs
Adaptation of plants to soil stress: Mechanisms of drought, salinity, nutrient competition, and toxics on plant growth and rhizosphere processes
Environmental chemistry: mineral/organic/solution interactions in soils and impacts on environmental pollution, water quality, mineral weathering and soil fertility, plant nutrition, soil reclamation
Contaminant and solute transport in the vadose zone: groundwater recharge, modeling of subsurface heterogeneity and groundwater flow, fate and transport of contaminants
Greenhouse gas emissions in relation to soil and land use: transport and transformations of nitrogen, carbon, and volatile organic compounds, agricultural management to reduce gaseous losses
Ecosystem biogeochemistry: effects of vegetation, soil management, climate change and pollution on nutrient transformations and fates, and on productivity, carbon sequestration in agricultural and wildland ecosystems
Soil landscape relationships: factors of soil formation, genesis of soils in relation to land, air and water resources, erosion, conservation of unique California ecosystems and landscapes