Agriculture in the SW is a challenge due to high temperatures and limited water resources, problems that are expected to intensify with climate change. We think that measuring and modeling agriculture at the edge of plant physiological limits can be predictive of future agro-ecosystem conditions, as well as inform sustainable use of water and nitrogen.
Sorghum precursors evolved in the high elevation, arid plains of Ethiopia, which is evident today as drought hardiness traits in modern varieties. Sorghum also produces a natural nitrification inhibitor, sorgoleone, from its roots. We are therefore interested in sorghum as a model for improving system-level N and water efficiency, studying plant control on microbial N cycling, and plant response to directional microbial manipulation with viruses.
Longer-term goals with my sorghum research include quantifying "sustainability" in terms of inputs like nitrogen and water, and interacting with New Mexico producers to encourage sorghum grain production for human consumption. More immediately, we are using sorghum to ask basic questions about C storage in arid systems, and the importance of plant roots to soil C pools:
Can soil C stocks be increased with low intensity agriculture that is resilient to climate change?
Can an arid adapted crop like sorghum be leveraged for such a purpose?
I am working with researchers at Sandia National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University to understand within plant C dynamics that lead to increased root architecture and potentially increased soil C. There are many open questions related to what makes C persist in soils, the role of microbes in degrading or stabilizing soil C, and the influence of management practices like irrigation and N fertilization on roots and C inputs. We are trying to answer these questions with field measurements and modeling approaches.
Sorghum precursors evolved in the high elevation, arid plains of Ethiopia, which is evident today as drought hardiness traits in modern varieties. Sorghum also produces a natural nitrification inhibitor, sorgoleone, from its roots. We are therefore interested in sorghum as a model for improving system-level N and water efficiency, studying plant control on microbial N cycling, and plant response to directional microbial manipulation with viruses.
Longer-term goals with my sorghum research include quantifying "sustainability" in terms of inputs like nitrogen and water, and interacting with New Mexico producers to encourage sorghum grain production for human consumption. More immediately, we are using sorghum to ask basic questions about C storage in arid systems, and the importance of plant roots to soil C pools:
Can soil C stocks be increased with low intensity agriculture that is resilient to climate change?
Can an arid adapted crop like sorghum be leveraged for such a purpose?
I am working with researchers at Sandia National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University to understand within plant C dynamics that lead to increased root architecture and potentially increased soil C. There are many open questions related to what makes C persist in soils, the role of microbes in degrading or stabilizing soil C, and the influence of management practices like irrigation and N fertilization on roots and C inputs. We are trying to answer these questions with field measurements and modeling approaches.
