Geisseler Lab
Nutrient Management
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UC Davis
1 Shields Ave.
2146 Plant and Envirnmental Sciences Building
Davis, CA, 95616
Our team
Daniel Geisseler
I am an assistant Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, specializes in nutrient management. My research focuses on nutrient turnover and plant nutrition in agricultural systems. I am interested in the effects that different management practices have on nutrient use in California crops and how nutrient use efficiency can be improved, particularly with nitrogen. The goal of my research and outreach is to provide information and develop tools for growers and crop advisers to support their nutrient management decisions.
Suzette Turner
Suzette graduated from CSU Chico with a B.S. in Crops and Horticulture with a focus in Land Resource Management in 2018 and joined the Geisseler Lab in August that year as a MSc student continuing research on nitrogen dynamics in low organic matter agricultural systems in the Central Valley. Her passion for soil health, remediation and regeneration have led her to UC Davis' Soils and Biogeochemistry program. She joined the Geisseler lab to investigate soil nutrient management, and nitrogen pollution mediation while also gaining an understanding of soil health measurements, assessments and monitoring. She is looking forward to developing applicable grower tools that will assist in nutrient and fertilizer decision-making throughout California.
Makena Savidge
I graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Agroecology and a B.A. in Economics. I joined the Geisseler lab in 2020 as a junior specialist, and began working on a PhD in soils and biogeochemistry under the advisor-ship of Dr. Geisseler in 2022. My work focuses on validating and updating mathematical modeling to predict nitrogen mineralization in organic systems with in-field experiments. I hope to develop a better understanding of the role of particulate organic matter in predicting nitrogen mineralization. When I'm not in the lab, I enjoy ceramics, gardening, cooking, and playing with my dog.
Christopher Hight
Christopher Hight is the soil laboratory director at Betteravia Farms which focuses on berry and vegetable production in the Santa Maria area. He is a recent graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Master’s in Crop Science and a previous graduate of Cal Poly with a BS in Biochemistry. Prior to his time with Betteravia Farms he provided juice and wine analysis, quantitative pesticide analysis and scouting as a pest control intern in strawberries.
His role at Betteravia is to coordinate sampling and testing for regular agronomic practices, as well as research trials. He also provides fertilizer recommendations for a majority of Betteravia strawberry acreage, pre-plant and in-season recommendations for vegetables and diagnosing any nutrient related illnesses within the field. Nitrogen mineralization and the factors controlling it within fields was focus of Chris’s Master’s research.
Chris holds both PCA and CCA certifications and serves on the Central Coast CAPCA committee as chapter president and Western Region CCA Board as on the education committee. He is also pursuing a PhD in Soils and Biogeochemistry at the University of California in Davis. His PhD research will focus on nitrogen mineralization and soil health in organic systems. Chris is particularly interested in organic farming because of the challenges associated with it.
Megan Harmon
I graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in Animal Science and Global Disease Biology in 2022. My interest in sustainable/judicious agriculture and all things One Health led me to join the Geisseler Lab as a junior specialist in 2023. My main role in the lab consists of contributing to data collection for the ongoing nitrogen removal project and conducting a cover crop incubation project. The resulting data from these projects seeks to provide updated nitrogen concentration values in harvested components of crops and ultimately support growers in their nutrient management decisions. When not in the lab, I love cooking, exploring new food spots, and hiking in nature. I hope to gain more education and experience in sustainable agriculture so that I may contribute to its expanding research landscape in the future!
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Former team members
Ken Miller
Ken Miller joined the lab in fall 2015 as an MSc student. His research focused on nitrogen mineralization in agricultural soils from California. Ken earned his MSc degree in early 2018.
Patricia Lazicki
My broad area of interest is soil fertility and conservation in agroecosystems, in particular the link between the soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles and the effect of farming systems on C and N retention and loss. I am specifically interested in exploring the timing of N transformations and the factors which affect N availability at times of peak crop uptake. A secondary area of interest is in developing and improving practical tools that farmers can use to measure the effects of management on soil and crop health.
Kelley Liang
Kelley Liang works as a junior specialist in the lab. The main focus of her work is on nitrogen uptake and canopy development of processing tomatoes in the Central Valley. The results of her work will be used to develop decision support tools for nitorgen and irrigation management of processing tomatoes.
Irfan Ainuddin
Irfan Ainuddin earned his B.S. in Soil Science from Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo, where he developed an interest in utilizing technology and soil information systems as a critical role soil science education and outreach. The UCCE Geisseler Nutrient Management lab has provided the opportunity to gain practical field and laboratory analytical skills working with soils and agricultural systems throughout California and simultaneously develop the communication and technology skills required to produce educational outreach videos and webtools.
Edward Turk
I graduated from University California Santa Cruz with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. My focus in lab is to contribute to the data being collected for the nitrogen removal project. This project aims to estimate the nitrogen content of common fruits, nuts and grains grown in the Central Valley. Working in the Geisseler lab has provided me a great opportunity to become familiar with many methods for measuring various soil properties. I am personally interested in what measurable soil properties could prove useful in assessing the overall health of a soil from a biological perspective. When I am not at work, I am busy raising my flock of chickens, working in the garden, and building compost piles. I enjoy thinking about the role microorganisms play in agriculture and how we may be able to improve soil biology to reduce inputs in cropping systems.
Monica Vazquez
I graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Management that focuses on Soils and Biogeochemistry as well as obtained a Minor in Plant Biology. As a junior specialist in the Geissler lab, I use these skill sets to analyze soils and plant matter for various nutrients. My focus in lab is how various tomato rootstock trans-grafted systems can help improve root growth and N mineralization in drip-irrigated systems to improve production yield and costs. Thinking about soil systems as a living organism with many functioning components keeps my interest going as we continue to contribute to develop practical solutions for growers. I am interested in the nitrogen cycle, specifically the turnover rate in agricultural systems and how different practices can improve nitrogen efficiency by improving methods using technologies which can then be incorporated into nutrient management systems. When not at work you can still find me collecting soil, rocks, and plant samples from different destinations. Striving to be a modern-day alchemist, I look for the most practical solutions to improve efficiencies in agricultural systems and community planning.