Welcome to UMD Soil & Environmental

Biogeochemistry Group

The research of the group is focused on environmental, (bio)geochemical and mineralogical processes that affect dynamics and availability of metals, nutrients (e.g., P and S) and organic carbon (C) in soils in diverse ecosystems. We combine both field and laboratory simulation studies, along with molecular-scale chemical (e.g., synchrotron X-ray techniques, FT-ICR MS and NMR spectroscopy) and isotope techniques, to provide mechanistic understanding of the processes, determine how they control soil (bio)geochemical patterns at large spatial scales (e.g., continental), and evaluate how they regulate elemental cycles and availability in response to environmental changes. Our research has been funded by NSF, USDA, DOE and UMD.