|
|
|
|
|
|
| Soil Chemistry, Plant Nutrition and Microbiology |
|
| Head:
Eddie Cytryn, Ph.D.
|
|
|
|
|
| Aims:
Research in soil chemistry, fertility, crop productivity and microbiology for sustainable agricultural use of soil and water resources and environmental protection; dissemination of knowledge; instruction and training of graduate and postgraduate students.
|
|
Vision: Sustainable use of soil and water resources through excellence in research Major research fields: 1. Optimized use of nutrients and water resources in managing soil and crops, while preserving environmental quality;
2. Impacts of marginal waters, organic wastes and industrial by-products on crop production and soil quality;
3. Fate and behavior of pesticides and other organic chemicals in soil and water bodies;
4. Soil and water conservation;
5. Physiological responses of crops to environmental stresses, especially drought and salinity
6. Soil microbial ecology as affected by agricultural practices. Department members in Gilat and Newe Ya'ar Research Centers: Roy Posmanik , Neve Yaar
Yael Laor, Neve Yaar
Ran Erel, Gilat
Uri Yermiyahu, Gilat |
|
|
|
|
|
| Staff |
|
| Researchers |
Name
(Surname, First name) |
|
Research Interests /
Job description |
|
|
|
| Baram Shahar, Ph.D. |
|
Soil hydrology
Soil chemistry
Nitrogen Use Efficiency
Greenhouse gas emissions from agricaltural activity |
| Borisover Mikhail, Ph.D. |
|
Soil and environmental chemistry.
Interactions of chemicals with environmentally important sorbents (soils, sediments, natural organic matter, clay minerals);
role of water (solvents) in interactions of organic compounds with soil organic matter;
sorption thermodynamics;
sorption-desorption hysteresis;
interactions between pollutants and modified clays (organoclays).
Natural organic matter: composition, structure, interactions with xenobiotics, reactivity. Use of fluorescence and IR spectroscopies for characterization of natural organic matter. |
| Cytryn Eddie, Ph.D. |
|
Antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems; Biocontrol agents; Root-microbe interactions |
| Golan Rotem, Ph.D. |
|
Biogeochemical cycles
Water geochemistry
Soil chemistry
Carbon cycle |
| Graber Ellen R., Ph.D. |
|
Soil, water and atmospheric organic chemistry, involving multi-faceted and cross-disciplinary research related to agricultural and environmental sustainability. My current research activities include:
• Biochar application in agriculture, and its impacts on soil chemistry, plant production, and plant disease
• Soil water repellency and other structural and chemical changes in soil as a result of application of treated wastewater and biosolids in agriculture
• Contamination of soil and groundwater by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their uptake of by trees, particularly as a method for screening the subsurface for these contaminants
• Physicochemical mechanisms of sorption interactions between soil organic matter and organic pollutants
|
| Halpern Moshe, Ph.D. |
|
Plant Nutrition
Elevated CO2
Duckweed
Biostimulants |
| Levy Guy J., D.Sc. |
|
Soil stability, Treated wastewater, Soil amendments
More specifically:
• Soil-structure stability indicators and their dependence on soil properties and conditions prevailing in the soil
• Irrigation with treated waste water and land application of waste material: impact on soil structure.
• Use of soil amendments (e.g., phosphogypsum, polymers) for improving soil-structure stability.
• Soil and water conservation in dry land farming.
|
| Minz Dror, Ph.D. |
|
Microbial Ecology,
Environmental Microbiology,
Rhizosphere microbiology,
Microbial communities structure and function in soil and water systems.
Biofilm microbiology
Biocontrol of plant pathogens
|
| Nachshon Uri, Ph.D. |
|
Soil degradation: Salinization and erosion.
Impact of agricultural activities on soil quality.
Sustainable agriculture. |
| Yalin David, Ph.D. |
|
Soil chemistry
Soil fertility and plant nutrition
Waste reuse in agriculture (municipal waste, agricultural waste, wastewaters)
Soil organic matter dynamics |
|
|
| Engineers/Technicians |
Name
(Surname, First name) |
|
Research Interests /
Job description |
|
|
|
| Berezkin Anna, M.Sc. |
|
|
| Buchanovsky Nadia, M.Sc. |
|
|
| Cohen Judith, Ph.D. |
|
Lab manager and research scientist in the field of ecological microbiology, focusing on microbial communities structure in various soil, water and agricultural environments. Passionate about interactions between plants, microbes and plant pathogens. |
| Cohen Shiran, B.Sc. |
|
|
| Elmakias Assaf, Mr. |
|
|
| Katzir Roee, M.A. |
|
|
| Shawahna Raneen, B.Sc. |
|
Analytical methods in soil chemistry and nutrition |
| Tenaw Haymero, M.Sc. |
|
Responsibilities and Interests:
• Rain simulator and field work studies on erosion, infiltration and water runoff and crust formation characteristics of various soils.
• Irrigation with marginal water (treated sewage effluent and saline water) effects on soil characteristics.
• Aggregate stability studies on Israeli and non Israeli soils.
Responsible for Dr. Meni Ben-Hur field and laboratory soil research.
Main tasks: 1. Analyze and resolve variation in several tests, experiments and procedures; modification and changes to techniques and procedures.
2.Maintain appropriate documentation of research results, as required by research protocol.
3. Statistical data analysis and preparation of figures.
4. Train students in laboratory techniques and the use of laboratory equipment.
Familiar with the following equipment: Rainfall simulator, fluorescence spectroscopy, TOC analyzer, ICP, GC, TDR, Field CO2 measuring instrument, etc. |
| Tzehansky Ludmila, M.Sc. |
|
|
|
|
| Scholars |
Name
(Surname, First name) |
|
Research Interests /
Job description |
|
|
|
|
|
| Retiree |
Name
(Surname, First name) |
|
Research Interests /
Job description |
|
|
|
| Bar-Tal Asher, Ph.D. |
|
Soil chemistry, plant nutrition, Fertigation, GHG
The general topic is soil chemistry and plant nutrition, the specific subjects are:
• Fertigation methods in soil and soilless culture to optimize yields and quality and minimize pollution.
• Irrigation with secondary effluent, its effect on nutrient uptake and on nutrient and salt leaching bellow the root zone.
• Simulation of nutrient chemistry and transport in soil, its uptake by root and its effects on plant growth.
• Application of sludge and organic waste materials to agricultural fields, using models to predict the decomposition of the organic material and the mineralization and transformation of nitrogen in soil.
Greenhouse Gases emissions from agriculture activities. |
| Bar-Yosef Benayahu, Ph.D. |
|
Senio soil scientist (retired).
Soil chemistry- Adsorption; surface reaction models; rhizosperic chemistry; ions transport; nutrients transformations in soil.
Plant nutrition- modeling uptake and root growth in response to environmental conditions; root excretions; fertigation principles; crops objective nutrient consumption curves.
Greenhouse crop production- soilless culture; modeling crop response to solution recycling; developing expert systems for optimal operation of open and semi-closed greenhouse fertigation systems.
Inorganic and organic phosphorus- reactions and transformations in soil; availability to plants; environmental concerns stemming from manure, sludge and reclaimed wastewater soil application. |
| Ben-Hur Meni, Ph.D. |
|
Soil and water conservation and pollution
Irrigation with saline and effluent waters
Surface runoff and soil erosion
Surface movement of contaminates
Heavy metals in the environment
Soil structure
|
| Fine Pinchas, Ph.D. |
|
|
| Gerstl Zev, Ph.D. |
|
Soil and environmental chemistry
|
| Heuer Bruria, Ph.D. |
|
Plant response to drought and salinity
Proteomics
Osmotic adjustment
Irrigation with marginal water
Ornamentals and cut flowers
Exogenous application of compatible solutes
|
| Mingelgrin Uri, Prof. |
|
Behavior of micropollutants in soils and water systems.
Dynamics and equilibrium of the adsorption/desorption process of organic monomers on geosorbents.
Effect of complexation on the transport of heavy metals and organic monomers.
Carbon sequestration as solid mineral species.
Novel controlled release formulations for agrochemicals.
Time dependent speciation of transition metals and organic contaminants in soils treated with effluents or sludges.
Use of earth materials such as peats and modified clays for the treatment of effluents and polluted soils and water.
Mechanochemistry |
| Shainberg Isaac, Ph.D. |
|
Emeritus
|
| Silber Avner, Ph.D. |
|
Chemical reactions in the rhizosphere.
Phosphorus reactions in soil and mechanisms of phosphorus uptake by plants.
Soilless culture, fertigation methods.
Nutrition of plants originating from the south hemisphere.
Irrigation methods to optimize nutrient uptake by plants: high fertigation frequency, subsurface drip irrigation.
Physiological disorders induced by nutrient deficiency: blossom-end rot (BER).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|