My research program integrates both fundamental and applied soil research. The applied aspect of my research addresses how different farming practices in row-crop and pasture-based systems impact soil health. The management practices under investigation in my lab include crop rotation, cover cropping, no-tillage, biochar amendment, organic farming, use of nitrogen efficiency enhancing products, and integration of native warm-season grasses with cool-season grasses. My team concentrates on understanding soil biogeochemical changes when conventional production systems are transitioned into sustainable systems, and how those changes are translated to increased crop yield as well as improved ecosystem services such as water quality, air quality, and erosion control. The fundamental aspect of my research is closely linked to my collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and it focuses on understanding the response of ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycles to abiotic and biotic changes. To achieve this, my laboratory conducts innovative lab-scale and field-scale experiments and utilizes stable carbon and nitrogen isotope techniques and finer-scale instrumentations.