Department Staff

Post Docs
A. K. Bhardwaj
H. Heller
M. Lado

1. To optimize soil and crop management with available resources of nutrients and water, while preserving environmental quality;
   • Nutrient fate and recycling of nutrients in the soil/growth media – the root system as a background for improved fertilization management. (Bar-Yosef, Bar-Tal, Silber)
   • Fertigation management of specific crops in soil or growth media for optimal crop yields. (Bar-Yosef, Bar-Tal, Silber)
   • Modeling C and N turnover in soils. (Bar-Tal, Fine, Hadas, Levy, Mingelgrin)
   • Crop nutrition and plant protection for organic agriculture. (Fine)
2. To study the impact of marginal waters, organic wastes and industrial by-products on crop production and soil quality;
   • Processes of organic materials in soil, in relation to effects on soil chemistry and availability and transport of plant nutrients and trace and heavy elements (Fine, Bar-Tal)
   • Ecological and agricultural aspects of using agricultural soils for disposal of organic residues: sewage sludge, composts and manures. (Bar-Tal, Fine, Mingelgrin)
   • Long-term effects of effluents on soil properties (physical and chemical) (Keren, Levy).
   • Mobilization of carbon and heavy metals when using sewage effluents or sludges. (Fine, Mingelgrin)
   • Long-term nitrogen management of crops with organic inputs and sewage effluents: monitoring and modeling soil-plant relationships. (Bar-Tal, Fine, Levy)
   • Boron fate in water, soils and plants under irrigation. (Heuer, Keren)
   • Phytoremediation of heavy metal polluted sites. (Fine, Gerstl, Mingelgrin)
3. To elucidate the fate and behavior of pesticides and other organic chemicals in soils and groundwater;
   • Fate and behavior of xenobiotic organic micropollutants in soils and water and their interaction with soil constituents. (Borisover, Gerstl, Graber, Mingelgrin)
   • Organoclays and polymers as sorbents and slow release formulations. (Borisover, Gerstl, Mingelgrin)
   • Characterization of contaminated industrial sites. (Gerstl, Graber, Mingelgrin )
   • Effect of suspended and soluble organic matter in sewage effluent on sorption/desorption of microelements and pesticides in soil. (Fine, Graber, Mingelgrin)
   • Binding capacity of dissolved organic matter from secondary effluent to trace elements. (Fine, Mingelgrin)
   • Environmental aspects of fly ash reuse. (Fine, Keren, Mingelgrin)
   • Micro-pollutants in rivers and river-bed sediments. (Ben-Hur, Gerstl, Mingelgrin)
   • Polishing municipal secondary effluent for stream rehabilitation. (Keren).
4. To improve soil and water conservation
   • Effect of tillage (CT and NT) and amendments on runoff, erosion and crop yield in rain-fed agriculture. (Ben-Hur, Keren, Levy, Shainberg)
   • Reclamation of saline and sodic soils. (Ben-Hur, Levy, Shainberg)
   • Colloidal properties of clay minerals in saline and sodic solutions. (Keren, Levy, Mingelgrin, Shainberg)
   • Effect of soil properties (intrinsic and extrinsic) on soil hydraulic conductivity, infiltration rate, runoff and soil erosion under rainfall and irrigation conditions. (Ben-Hur, Keren, Levy)
5. To study the physiological response of crops to environmental stresses, mainly drought and salinity.
   • Irrigation of crops with marginal water: physiological response to drought and salinity. (Heuer)
   • Osmotic adjustment of crops. (Heuer)
6. To study soil microbial ecology with respect to changing soil environment due to the above.
   • Microbial processes in soil related to organic inputs (Minz)
   • Microbial community structure, function and ecology in different environments. (Minz)
   • Molecular microbial ecology studies, using 16S rRNA technologies and group-specific genes, Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis and phylogeny. (Minz)

Members of the Department are also involved in the National Water Quality Laboratory in collaboration with the Water Commissioner.