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Shuijin Hu

Associate Professor

Entomology and Plant Pathology Department, NC State

Bio

Microbial mediation of plant and ecosystem responses to global change components. We are currently investigating the mechanisms through which soil microorganisms mediate plant and ecosystem responses to elevated atmospheric CO2, O3 and N inputs. Our major focus is on how microorganisms respond to alterations in C and N availability under these global change components, and what are the implications of the resulting changes in terms of ecosystem C storage.

Microbial interactions and pathogen/disease suppression. We want to know whether and how the structure, diversity and activities of soil microbial and mesofaunal communities influence the population dynamics and activities of soilborne pathogenic fungi, Pythium spp. and Rhizoctonia spp. in particular.

Microbial mediation of plant interactions. We are interested in understanding how microbes, mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi in particular, modulate the interactions among coexisting plant species. Effects of disturbance on the structure and activities of soil organisms. Our current research examines how disturbance such as conventional farming and elevated atmospheric CO2 affects soil microbes and soil food web interactions and how the resulting alterations in soil organisms influence C and N cycling.

Area(s) of Expertise

Plant-microbial Interactions, Terrestrial C and N Cycling, Mycorrhizae, Endophytes, N-cycling Microbes

Publications

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Grants

Date: 09/01/18 - 8/31/23
Amount: $488,538.00
Funding Agencies: USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

Agricultural soils in the southeastern U.S., marked by high rainfall and warm temperatures, are often characterized with low organic C and soil pH. Organic farming relies on organic inputs and fundamentally alters the sources and forms of reactive carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) inputs. It also induces changes in soil physical and geochemical properties that may profoundly affect the abundances, composition and activities of soil microbes, including nitrifiers (i.e., ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea) and diverse types of denitrifiers. However, there is still a lack of a holistic picture of organic farming effects on N-cycling microbes and their activities. We hypothesize that organic farming, if properly adopted, may induce consistent and predictable changes to foster the development of microbial communities for N retention and mitigation of N2O emissions. We plan to test our three specific hypotheses on long-term (19-yr) cropping systems at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (Goldsboro, NC) as well as on multiple organic farms across North Carolina. Three major questions will guide our proposed research: 1) To what extent are these differences driven by long-term shifts in the microbial community? 2) What are the primary drivers and/or environmental factors that affect the composition and activities of nitrogen-cycling microbes? 3) To what extent are these differences driven by the quality and quantity of fertilizer inputs? Answering these questions will advance understanding of N transformations in organic systems and facilitate development of management regimes that enhance N use efficiency and ecosystem N retention, while reducing N2O emissions.������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

Date: 09/01/20 - 8/31/22
Amount: $100,000.00
Funding Agencies: USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

The backbone of the FSRU will continue on: replicated plots of farming systems managed with farm-scale equipment. Within that context, new research questions have emerged. This research involves measuring outcomes never before measured or nesting new subplots within the experimental framework. From the social sciences, we can ask how these systems interact with sustainability in the real world. How do farmers weigh the choices in selecting farming practices from these various systems? What factors play roles in farming practices that cannot be captured in an experimental protocol? In this proposal, we have attracted researchers new to CEFS who have fresh ideas on relating this experiment to the sustainability issues of our time. Most of these questions were never envisioned when the experiment was first designed. From research on which farming systems emit the most greenhouse gases, to work on how land tenure affects the ability of farmers to adopt sustainable practices, the new research projects run the gamut of disciplines.

Date: 09/01/19 - 8/31/22
Amount: $100,000.00
Funding Agencies: USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

The backbone of the FSRU will continue on: replicated plots of farming systems managed with farm-scale equipment. Within that context, new research questions have emerged. This research involves measuring outcomes never before measured or nesting new subplots within the experimental framework. From the social sciences, we can ask how these systems interact with sustainability in the real world. How do farmers weigh the choices in selecting farming practices from these various systems? What factors play roles in farming practices that cannot be captured in an experimental protocol? In this proposal, we have attracted researchers new to CEFS who have fresh ideas on relating this experiment to the sustainability issues of our time. Most of these questions were never envisioned when the experiment was first designed. From research on which farming systems emit the most greenhouse gases, to work on how land tenure affects the ability of farmers to adopt sustainable practices, the new research projects run the gamut of disciplines.

Date: 09/01/18 - 8/31/21
Amount: $100,000.00
Funding Agencies: USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

The backbone of the FSRU will continue on: replicated plots of farming systems managed with farm-scale equipment. Within that context, new research questions have emerged. This research involves measuring outcomes never before measured or nesting new subplots within the experimental framework. From the social sciences, we can ask how these systems interact with sustainability in the real world. How do farmers weigh the choices in selecting farming practices from these various systems? What factors play roles in farming practices that cannot be captured in an experimental protocol? In this proposal, we have attracted researchers new to CEFS who have fresh ideas on relating this experiment to the sustainability issues of our time. Most of these questions were never envisioned when the experiment was first designed. From research on which farming systems emit the most greenhouse gases, to work on how land tenure affects the ability of farmers to adopt sustainable practices, the new research projects run the gamut of disciplines.

Date: 06/15/16 - 12/14/20
Amount: $238,500.00
Funding Agencies: USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

Agriculture is the primary economic activity undergirding human survival and quality of life and global economic development. To grow agricultural productivity we will establish an interdisciplinary graduate training program to address Plant Production within the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area (TESA) of Food Production. The goals of this program are: 1) comprehensively train three PhD fellows, each in a core discipline within plant production with cross-training in complementary areas; 2) provide experiential training within a technology rich, multidisciplinary research and Extension platform; and 3) graduate students proficient at integrating computational, environmental, biological and physical data into decision tools for increased yield and economic sustainability. This will be achieved through: recruitment of top tier, diverse Fellows; intensive advising and mentoring by exemplary faculty; outstanding academic, international, and industry-based research opportunities; leadership and professional development training, and internships with local Agbiotech companies. Fellows������������������ research will be grounded in the innovative research platform (AMPLIFY), a strategic industry-academia- producer partnership conducting interdisciplinary multi-scale systems research to advance high- yield sustainable agriculture to meet our world������������������s growing food requirements. Success will be measured by: 1) diversity of recruits; 2) presentations at professional conferences and publication in refereed journals; 3) timely degree completion; and 4) successful placements in industry, academia, or government appropriate to TESA. This NNF is relevant to the USDA/NIFA Challenge Area, Plant Production. Measurable impacts on TESAs include a more diverse scientific workforce trained in skills necessary to address complex challenges facing agriculture.


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