Katarina Neufeld
Lab and Research Coordinator
Education
- MSc in Soil Science (University of British Columbia, 2015)
- BSc in Environmental Sciences, major Environmental Biology (University of Guelph, 2011)
Research Interests
- Nutrient cycling
- Biogeochemistry
- Soil food web
- Soil microbiology
- Sustainable agriculture
In my capacity as Lab and Research Coordinator, I work on several projects in Delta, BC investigating farm management in a changing climate, including previous projects such as the British Columbia Nutrient Database, the Delta Drainage Project, and currently the Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Project. I also manage the SAL laboratory.
In my research, I am interested in taking an ecological approach to managed ecosystems, specifically agricultural systems. The importance of living organisms (plants, microorganisms, and animals) to the transformation of nutrients, soil fertility, gas exchange with the atmosphere, and environmental health cannot be underestimated. I believe a better understanding of these processes is essential to allow farmers and land managers to work with the ecosystem, and not against it, to ensure healthy, productive, and sustainable land management.
Check out my MSc thesis from 2015 on Nutrient Management Effects on Soil Quality, Microbial Community Composition, and Nitrogen Leaching on the project page.
Publications and Presentations:
- Maltais-Landry, G., Neufeld, K., Poon, D., Grant, N., Nesic, Z., and Smukler, S. (2017) Protection from wintertime rainfall reduces nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions during the decomposition of poultry and horse manure-based amendments. J of Air & Waste Management Association, https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2017.1409294
- Zhang, H., McGill, E., Ohep Gomez, C., Carson, S., Neufeld, K., Hawthorne, I., and Smukler, S. (2017) Disintegration of compostable foodware and packaging and its effect on microbial activity and community composition in municipal composting. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 125:157-165.
- Neufeld, K., Grayston, S., Bittman, S., Krzic, M., Hung, D., and Smukler, S. (2017) Long-term alternative dairy manure management approaches enhance microbial biomass and activity in perennial forage grass. Biol Fertil Soils 53:613-626.
- Neufeld, K., Smukler, S., Grayston S., Bittman S., Hunt D., and Krzic, M. (2014) Soil Microbial Community Composition and Activity after Ten Years of Application of Whole and Separated Dairy Slurry and Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer on a Tall Fescue Grassland. Presentation at the CSSS 2014 Annual General Meeting, Banff, AB.
- Neufeld, K., Turetsky, M., and Kane, E. (2010) Controls of vegetation, hydrology, and climate on DOC production in Alaskan peatlands. Poster Presentation at the AGU 2010 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.