Rodney Venterea |
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Disciplinary Area
Soil Science and Biogeochemistry
Agricultural Nitrogen Management
Current Research Focus
Our research group focuses on the biogeochemistry of nitrogen (N), which is an essential nutrient that is applied to agricultural soils as chemical fertilizer or animal manure to increase crop productivity. The efficiency of crop utilization of applied N is often below 50-70%, representing a significant economic inefficiency for farmers. In addition, the applied N which is not used by the crop can move off-site in different chemical forms. This can cause, for example, nitrate pollution of adjacent surface waters or groundwater, and ammonia-driven atmospheric pollution. These impacts can affect human health in local communities and the nation as a whole. Thus, we also study the so-called reactive nitrogen compounds, including ammonia, nitrate, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide, all of which can escape from farmer's fields. Our overall objective is to evaluate and compare innovative and conventional technologies and land management practices. We seek to identify those practices that maintain or enhance agricultural production, reduce costs, and minimize N losses to the environment. We also aim to more accurately quantify and predict the fluxes of reactive N species using a variety of laboratory, field, and modeling techniques.