RESEARCH INTERESTS:

• Biochemical and molecular approaches to characterize microbial community structure and function in soil systems.
• Mechanisms of carbon sequestration in natural and agro-ecosystems.
• Mycorrhizal function in natural and agro-ecosystems.

COURSES TAUGHT:

• Soils 460/860, Soil Microbiology

MAJOR PROJECT ACTIVITIES:

• Community Structure and Functional Diversity of Soil Microbial Communities in Natural and Agro-ecosystems
• Genomics of Nitrous Oxide Flux Associated with Carbon Sequestration (pending)
• Long-term Forest Establishment on Prairie Soils: Effects on Soil Microbiological, Mineralogical, Physical and Chemical Properties.
• Role of Nutrient Dynamics in Soil Microbial Diversity and Early Season Corn Growth
• Complex Lipid Biomarkers for Improved Quantification of Vesicular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Soil Systems
• Accumulation of Microbial Biomass in Aging Golf Greens and its Relationship to Soil Organic Matter and Green Management

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

• Oh, B.-T., P.J. Shea, R.A. Drijber, G.K. Vasilyeva and G. Sarath. 2003. Variables affecting TNT biotransformation and detoxification by a Psuedomonas aeruginosa strain. Accepted by Biodegradation Journal, March 2003.
  
  
• Johnson, C.K., R.A. Drijber, B.J. Wienhold, S.F. Wright, and J.W. Doran. 2003. Linking microbial-scale findings to farm-scale outcomes. Accepted by Precision Agriculture, March 2003.
  
  
• Drijber, R.A. 2002. Microbial Signatures for Crop Production Systems. Proceedings of the OECD Workshop on Innovative Soil-Plant Systems for Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Izmir, June 3-7, 2002. J.M. Lynch, J.S. Schepers and I. Ünver (Eds). Tübitak, Turkey.
  
  
• Kerek, M., R.A. Drijber, R.E. Gaussoin. 2003. Labile soil organic matter as a potential nitrogen source in golf greens. Accepted by Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Oct 2, 2002.
  
  
• Kerek, M., R.A. Drijber, W.L. Powers, R.C. Shearman, R.E. Gaussoin and A.M. Streich. 2002. Accumulation of microbial biomass within particulate organic matter of aging golf greens. Agronomy Journal 94:455-461.
  
  
• Limon-Ortega, A., K.D. Sayre, R.A. Drijber and C.A. Francis. 2002. Soil attributes in a furrow-irrigated bed planting system in Northwest Mexico. Soil & Tillage Research 63:123-132.
  
  
• Sun, W.H., G.L. Horst, R.A. Drijber and T.E. Elthon. 2000. Fate of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in axenic sand culture systems containing smooth bromegrass. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 19:2038-2046.
  
  
• Drijber, R.A., J.W. Doran, A.M. Parkhurst and D.J. Lyon. 2000. Changes in soil microbial community structure with tillage under long-term wheat-fallow management. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 32:1419-1430.
  
  
• Kessavalou, A., J.W. Doran, A.R. Mosier and R.A. Drijber. 1998. Greenhouse gas fluxes following tillage and wetting in a wheat-fallow cropping system. Journal Environmental Quality 27: 1105-1116.
  
  
• Drijber, R.A. and W.B. McGill. 1997. Cytophaga hutchinsonii ATCC 33406 contains a structural variant of the sulfonolipid N-acylcapnine. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 43:689-693.
  
  
• Martin, J.L., Comfort, S.D., Shea, P.J., Kokjohn, T.A. and R.A. Drijber. 1997. Denitration of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene by Pseudomonas savastanoi. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 43:447-455.
  
  
• Drijber, R.A. and W.B. McGill. 1994. Sulfonolipids as a biomarker to monitor the population dynamics of the genera Cytophaga and Flexibacter in soil worked by the earthworm Aporrectodea turgida. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 26:1395-1403.
  
  
• Drijber, R.A. and L.E. Lowe. 1991. Bound phenolic acids in humus fractions of Andosols under varying vegetation in the Sierra Nevada, Mexico. Geoderma 48:431-442.