Everglades Research and Education Center

Soil, Water, & Ecosystem Sciences

Welcome New Lab Members

Person standing by a sign person standing in front of building

Dr. Yicheng Yang to join the Soil, Water, & Nutrient Management Lab. Dr. Yang is a UF graduate from Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department who will be working on topics related Treatment technologies for Phosphorus Mitigation (T2PM).

Abraham Ramirez (right) joins the Water Quality Lab as an OPS technician. As a Field Technician, he gains hands-on experience in agricultural research, collaborating with postdoctoral research associates, agricultural assistants, and scientists.

Picture of a student picture of a woman Shakil Uddin, PhD Student (left) will join the Soil, Water, & Nutrient Management lab to work on topics related to phosphorus sustainability under the supervision of Dr. Bhadha.

Veronic Salvador (right) returned to EREC to work as OPS in the Soil, Water, Nutrient Management lab, under the supervision of Dr. Rabbany and Dr. Bhadha.

November 9-13: CANVAS Annual Meeting

Members of the Water Quality Lab attended the annual conference of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), now known as CANVAS, held in San Antonio, TX, from November 9-13. Agricultural Scientist Maryory Orton presented research on phosphorus removal from discharged water across canals in the Everglades Agricultural Area, while Dr. Pamela Aracena Santos shared preliminary findings on greenhouse gas emissions linked to energy cane cultivation. Dr. Samira Daroub, President Elect of the Soil Science Society of America, hosted a special session titled "Sabor de San Antonio." The session featured invited guest Professor Omar Valerio Jimenez from the University of San Antonio and internationally acclaimed Chef Adán Medrano, who led an exploration of the history, food, and culture of San Antonio, culminating in a tasting of local delicacies.

At the CANVAS 2024 meeting President Elect of SSSA, Dr. Samira Daroub received the gavel from President Dr. Michael Thompson. Her tenure as new President of SSSA will begin on January 1, 2025.

Early this year, the Soil, Water, & Nutrient Management Lab under the supervision of Dr. Bhadha, hosted two NSF REUs Olivia Davidson and Micheal Gerfen as part of the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center summer internship experience. The interns helped with ongoing research project related to phosphorus sustainability with the EAA, collecting and processing soil, water, and plant tissue samples. The interns spend ten weeks shadowing graduate students and postdocs, engaging with numerous local stakeholders, and participated in multiple outreach events. Olivia and Micheal were part of a larger cohort of NSF REUs spread across six institutions nationwide.

Recent publications

We are excited to announce four new publications featuring Dr. Jehangir Bhadha:

Deviney, A.V., Bhadha, J.H., Crane, L., Cuchiara, M., Delanthamajalu, S., Gatiboni, L., Guzman, S.M., Hendren, C.O., Marshall, A-M., Morrison, E., Nelson, N., Rickabaugh, J., Sozzani, R., Westerhoff , P., Jones, J.L. 2024. Triple bottom line scenario sites as boundary objects for integrating diverse disciplines in convergent research. Sustainability. 16: 10429. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su162310429

Santos, F., Melkani, S., Oliverra-Paiva, O., Bini, D., Pavuluri, K., Gatiboni, L., Mahmud, A., Torres, M., McLamore, E., Bhadha, J.H. 2024. Biofertilizer use in the United States: definition, regulation, and prospects. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 108: 511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-024-13347-4

Boyer, T.H., Briese, E., Crane, L., Bhadha J.H., Call, D.F., McLamore, E.S., Rittmann, B., Tuberty, S., Westerhoff, P., Duckworth, O.W. 2024. Guidance on aqueous matrices for evaluating novel precipitants and adsorbents for phosphorus removal and recovery. Chemosphere. 367. 143648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143648

Boufous, S., Wade, T., Chakravarty, S., Andreu, M., Bhadha, J.H., Her, Y.G., Ziwen Yu. 2024. An Introduction to Carbon Credit Markets and Their Potential for Florida Agricultural Producers. University of Florida IFAS EDIS Publication. #FE1154. doi.org/10.32473/edis-fe1154-2024

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Bhadha received the 2024 Epsilon Sigma Phi "International Service Award" for the Southern Region Read more

photo headshot of lab member Picture of a student Dr. Tanjila Jesmin (left) received the Rising Star Award during the 2024 UF Postdoc Appreciation Week.

Postdoc Page

Suraj Melkani, PhD student (right) received the prestigious William Robertson Fellowship from the Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences.

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Scholarships

Congratulations to two of our students on awards from the UF College of Agricultural Sciences. Xue Bai received the 2024-25 Doris and Earl Lowe and Verna Lowe Scholarship Award. Noel Manirakiza received the 2024-25 William C. and Bertha M. Cornett Fellowship. We are very proud of their hard work and accomplishments.

November 9-13: CANVAS Annual Meeting

picture of a student

Xue Bai (left) earned 3rd place in the PhD Oral Presentation Competition at the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Nutrient Management Professionals Community.

Anik Mahmud (right) received 1st place in the PhD Oral Presentation Competition at the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Soil Chemistry Division.