People – Sustainable Land Ecosystems

Our research group is a dynamic network of members at different stages of their graduate programs who continuously make excellent progress towards successful completion of their research and degrees.

Every student’s graduate program is unique encompassing collaborative and independent work; the nature and advances in their programs is basically driven by their own motivation and scientific curiosity.

Hypothesis-based research is formulated, led, implemented and completed by each of our MSc and PhD students who synergistically combine field and laboratory approaches to develop excellent publications that effective contribute and advance scientific literature.

Each member is responsible to contribute to an overall positive environment leading to science productivity based on their own creativity, motivation, leadership and teamwork, dedication and perseverance.

Each graduate student seeks advice and mentorship as necessary to advance their programs. The academic goal is multiple publications emerging from each graduate student’s program.

Our affirmative organizational culture and efficiency leading to productivity and success are well-kept secrets that follow and pertain to our alumni beyond their program completion.

Please feel free to explore this website, our publications and contact any of the members of our research group.

Erica Prins - PhD student

Erica started in 2024 focusing on soil health as a response to crop rotation choices.

Shane Collins - MSc student

Shane started in 2024 focusing on grain harvest desiccation in wheat.

Preparing for talk at the annual field tour

Close-up of our emulated weed, Hairy Vetch

Alessia Marchesan - MSc student

Alessia started in 2024 focusing on greenhouse gases balance and soil health in organic farming systems.

Integrated crop-livestock system during 2-day grazing period (Photo: Hiroshi Kubota, AAFC Lacombe)

Integrated crop-livestock system after 2-day grazing period, with static chamber measurement in place

Intact soil core exhibiting fantastic soil structure

Cosmas Ugwu - PhD Candidate

Cosmas started in July 2023 with focus on intercropping systems and sustainability.

Perennial wheat and sainfoin intercropping

Legumes and grain in multifunctional landscape.

Matt Ball - PhD Candidate

He started in July 2023 and his focus is on nitrogen fertilization, bedding preparation and nitrous oxide emissions in intense potato crops.

Potato experimental fields in Southern Alberta

Moisture distribution in potato hills and furrows.

Canopy development of potato plants

Syazwan Sulaiman - PhD Candidate

He started in February 2023 (visiting from Brunei) and his focus is on plant residues and biochar in agricultural soils.

Soil incubation to assess biochar effects on nutrients.

Water-soluble nutrient extractions of wheat straw and biochar.

Producing biochar from wheat straw using a muffle furnace.

Residues from wheat crops are used to produce biochar

Soil incubation are conducted to examine the effects of adding biochar and plant residues on nutrient bioavailability.

Dorcas Aisien - MAg student

She started in January 2023 and her focus is on intercropping systems and sustainability.

Legumes and grain in multifunctional landscape.

Perennial wheat and sainfoin intercropping

Samantha Angeles - MSc student

She started in April 2023 and her focus is on nitrogen fertilization options and nitrous oxide emissions.

Gas sample collection in experimental plots

Crop seeding operations at the experimental plots.

Chamber in a plot with crop residue coverage

Josie Zhao - MAg student

She started in September 2022 and her focus is on contrasting organic farming versus conventional farming.

Soil organic matter dynamics is foundational within organic farming systems.

Well developed roots enable effective nutrient cycling

Tamara Guevara - MAg student

She started in September 2021 and her focus is on wildlife dynamics in urban parks with or without designations as dog leash area.

Check out this cool website: https://tamaraangie.shinyapps.io/ClawsandPaws/

Urban parks with digital monitoring of wildlife within Edmonton.

Intense data analyses of frequencies and co-occurrence of urban wildlife species and dog presence.

Hayford Gyamfi - PhD Candidate

He started in January 2021 and his focus is on perennial forage mixes and ecosystems services. This research is in co-supervision and close collaboration with Dr. Akim Omokanye at Peace Country Beef and Forage Association (PCBFA).

Setting up experimental plots, Fairview, Alberta.

Field measurements of soil penetrability

Preparing seeds for experimental plots

Chloe Ducholke - MSc student

She started in September 2020 and her focus is assessing management options for greenhouse gases reduction based on modelling. This research is in co-supervision with Dr. Linda Gorim at UAlberta.

Intense vegetable crop in Alberta

Animal agriculture under grazing in Alberta

Ekene Iheshiulo - PhD Candidate

He started in 2019 and his focus is on crop rotations, soil health and agroecosystem resiliency. This research is in co-supervision and close collaboration with Agriculture Canada - Lethbridge Station.

Interactions between soil properties and weather drive in part crop performance

Soil quality assessment of aggregation by laser scanning technique.

Alan Lee - MSc student

He started in Spring 2019 and his focus is on intercropping systems and rhizosphere interactions. This research is in co-supervision and close collaboration with Dr. Akim Omokanye at the Peace Country Beef and Forage Association (PCBFA).

Field Site 2018 by Peace Country Beef and Forage Association. Fairview, Alberta.

The underlying landscape generates a variable mosaic across crop fields

Kris Guenette - PhD Candidate

He started in 2019 and his focus is on nitrogen use efficiency and pesticide-rhizosphere interactions in cropping systems.

Field sampling at the peak of the growing season.

Wheat - Nitrogen Experiment (Lethbridge)

Keunbae Kim - MSc student

He started in 2018 and his focus is on carbon cycling in perennial grain cropping systems.

Setting up eddy-covariance, Breton, Alberta.

Field research in the middle of the winter season

Meticulous extraction procedures at the laboratory

Erin Daly - PhD Candidate

She started in 2018 and her research centers on nitrous oxide fluxes, nitrogen dynamics and soil quality in perennial grain cropping systems.

Carmen Roman - PhD Candidate

She started her program in 2017 focusing on soil nitrous oxide fluxes and processes as a response to urban biosolid-nitrogen input.

Cole Brachmann - MSc student

Cole is focusing on alpine ecosystems including vegetation, soils and methane flux responses to elevational gradients within the context of climate change.

Flux measurement in a recently de-glaciated mountain terrain

Shakila Ekanayaka - PhD Candidate

She started her program in 2016 pursuing scientific inquiries on the nitrogen cycle in annual crop production systems. All-seasons research!

Repeated soil sampling for nutrient determination

Musfira Jamil - MSc student

Dedicated to examine nitrogen use efficiency estimations and spatial heterogeneity in crop fields.

Field sampling to quantify spatial variability

High productivity crop based on variable nitrogen rates

Sisi Lin - PhD Candidate

She started her research in 2016 focusing on soil nitrous oxide fluxes and processes as a response to manure-nitrogen input.

Intense field monitoring of soil attributes and gaseous emissions

Field crops after various manure additions

Our research group is being fortunate to have successful completed graduate students who now continue developing their career and new endeavors in science, consulting and applications in sustainable land ecosystems. Likewise, important contributions derived from our research group are only possible because of the dedicated, engaged and generous work by our valuable support research personnel.

Group Head: Guillermo Hernandez (from Jul 2012 to present)

Professor
Department of Renewable Resources
Office: 426 Earth Sciences Building
Office phone: (780) 492-2428.
Email: ghernand@ualberta.ca