Soil–microbiome–plant-environment interactions under sustainable management

These studies aim to elucidate how sustainable management in agroecosystems affects the links among soil health, soil microbiomes, plant health, and environmental sustainability. We evaluate sustainability-oriented practices, including soil amendments (e.g., biochar), crop diversification, biofertilizers (e.g., synthetic microbial communities), stress-resilient plant varieties, crop–livestock integration, and organic management, to determine how they reshape microbial communities and soil functions that underpin productivity and resilience. Collectively, our work advances microbiome-informed strategies that improve soil function and crop performance, reduce plant stress and disease risks, strengthen food safety, and support climate-resilient agroecosystems.

Papers: Netto-Ferreira et al. 2026 Luo et al. 2025 Erhunmwunse et al. 2023 Shen et al. 2023 Zhang et al. 2022 Zhang et al. 2022 Zhang et al. 2022 Shen et al. 2021 Zhang et al. 2021 Shen et al. 2021 Zhang et al. 2020 Zhang et al. 2020 Zhang et al. 2017 Luo et al. 2017

Funding: USDA-NIFA (2024-67019-42344; co-PI), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service (30040; co-PI), SARE Graduate Grant Award (GS20-224; PI), SSARE (2017-38640-26914; participlant)