Research AreasThe
Department of Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences is a
multidisciplinary department whose research and graduate training
programs emphasize the biogeochemistry and sustainability of
agricultural, horticultural, forested, and wetland ecosystems. Areas
of emphasis for graduate work include nutrient dynamics in
agricultural and forest ecosystems, soil chemistry and plant
nutrition, soil microbiology, crop physiology, diversified cropping
systems, weed ecology and management, and plant pathology. The
department plays a strong role in many of the University of Maine’s
nationally recognized programs, such as the Sustainable Agriculture
program, the Potato Ecosystem Project, Bear Brook Watershed in
Maine, the George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed
Research, and Acadia National Park programs. Graduate students can
earn the Master of Science degree through programs in Horticulture;
Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences; Ecology and Environmental
Sciences; and Resource Utilization. The Doctor of Philosophy degree
can be pursued through programs in Ecology and Environmental
Sciences, Forest Resources, Plant Biology, and Biological Sciences.
The three broadly defined research
areas in our department are Landscape Horticulture, Soil and
Environmental Sciences, and Sustainable Agriculture. The primary
faculty associations are:
Landscape Horticulture:
Stephanie Burnett
[Ornamental Horticulture]
Bill Mitchell
[Landscape Architecture]
Renae Moran
[Tree Fruits]
Jack Smagula
[Blueberry Physiology]
Dave Yarborough
[Extension Weed Ecology and Blueberry Specialist]
Donglin Zhang
[Ornamental Horticulture]
Soil and Environmental Sciences:
Bryan Dail
[Soil
Microbiology]
M. Susan Erich
[Soil Chemistry]
Ivan Fernandez
[Forest Soils]
Tsutomu Ohno [Soil
Chemistry]
Laurie Osher
[Estuary Soils]
Sustainable Agriculture:
Eric Gallandt
[Weed Ecology and Management]
Mark Hutton
[Extension Vegetable Specialist]
Dave Lambert
[Plant Pathology]
Greg Porter
[Crop Management and Ecology]
Marianne
Sarrantonio [Sustainable Agriculture]
