Agroecology

Astrid Wingler will join Plant Sciences at UC Davis as a Fulbright Scholar from University College Cork, Ireland, January–July, 2021. Her research will include carbon capture and soil carbon sequestration. She will work with Plant Sciences professors Valerie Eviner, Diane Beckles, and Amelie Gaudin.

Jennifer Schmidt, a Ph.D. candidate in Plant Sciences, is the 2020 recipient of the John E. Kinsella Memorial Prize for outstanding research on a doctoral dissertation. Her research focuses on the microbiome of the soil around plant roots — the rhizosphere — and its functional implications for sustainable agriculture.

California organic farmers are sharing information about their efforts to combine reduced tillage with the use of cover crops on their vegetable farms to protect and improve soil health while adding carbon and diversity to their production systems. Jeff Mitchell, Plant Sciences, UC Davis, is spearheading this ongoing project.

Cameron Pittelkow is a new professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis. His expertise covers Agronomy and Agroecosystems, with a focus on sustainable crop production, management practices for high yields with low environmental footprints, and international agriculture.

Agroecology graduate student Jennifer Schmidt, Department of Plant Sciences, makes ceramics inspired by her Ph.D. dissertation work on the interactions between maize and its surrounding microbes. The visual aspects of her research lend themselves to hand-painted ceramics. Many scientists pursue some form of art or music, along with their science.

Strip seeding California grasslands to restore native perennial grasses that have been lost by exotic species is being tried as a less-expensive restoration method to improve ecosystem services. Emilio Laca, Department of Plant Sciences, is featured in this video, along with California agency partners and grassland owners.

Kernza, corn, and small grains are being studied in field trials at Russell Ranch, UC Davis. Plant Sciences faculty member Mark Lundy, and graduate students Kalyn Diederich and Taylor Becker describe their field experiments at the annual field day.

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