Johannes Lehmann, professor of soil biogeochemistry and soil fertility management at Cornell University, received his graduate degrees in Soil Science at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. During the past 20 years, he has focused on nano-scale investigations of soil organic matter, the biogeochemistry of black carbon and sequestration in soil. He is principal investigator of projects focusing on climate-smart agriculture, on developing fertilizers from waste and on soil carbon sequestration. Dr. Lehmann is a member of the steering group of the International Soil Carbon Network, has testified in the US congress, briefed the President’s council of advisors, was part of Workgroup 2 on Monitoring and Assessment of Sustainable Land Management of UNCCD, and serves on the Technical Management Advisory Committee of USAID legume program. Dr. Lehmann has authored more than 200 journal publications, has been named ISI Highly Cited Researcher and is editor-in-chief of the journal Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.
2014, International Research Award, Soil Science Society of America
2014, Fellow, Soil Science Society of America
2012, Marion L. and Chrystie M. Jackson, Soil Science Award, U.S. Soil Science Society of America and the Agronomic Science Foundation
2010, SUNY Chancellor Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Development and Institutional Development
2007, Sir Frederick McMasters Fellowship, CSIRO, Australia
Research Interests
I am interested to advance our general understanding of biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrient elements in soil, providing important insight into regional and global element cycles such as the carbon or sulfur cycle. This field of research has global and local relevance with implications for climate change, food security and environmental pollution.
The strong background in the chemistry, biology and physics of soils and its cycles provide the basis for the development of intelligent solutions for sustainable soil and land use management. The most exciting examples include the discovery of stabilization mechanisms of organic matter in soil nano-structures, the cycles of pyrogenic carbon and the development of a biochar soil management technology.
Selected Publications
Lehmann, Johannes; Kleber, Markus: The contentious nature of soil organic matter. Nature, 2015.
Whitman, Thea; Lehmann, Johannes: A dual-isotope approach to allow conclusive partitioning between three sources. Nature Communications 6, 2015, 8708.
Güereña, David T.; Lehmann, Johannes; Walter, Todd; Enders, Akio; Neufeldt, Henry; Odiwour, Holiance; Biwott, Henry; Recha, John; Shepherd, Keith; Barrios, Edmundo; Wurster, Chris: Terrestrial pyrogenic carbon export to fluvial ecosystems: Lessons learned from the White Nile watershed of East Africa. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 29 (11), 2015, 1911-1928.
Cayuela, Maria Luz; Sánchez-Monedero, Miguel Angel; Roig, Asunción; Hanley, Kelly; Enders, Akio; Lehmann, Johannes: Biochar and denitrification in soils: when, how much and why does biochar reduce N2O emissions? Sci. Rep. 3, 2013.
Schmidt, Michael W. I.; Torn, Margaret S.; Abiven, Samuel; Dittmar, Thorsten; Guggenberger, Georg; Janssens, Ivan A.; Kleber, Markus; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid; Lehmann, Johannes; Manning, David A. C.; Nannipieri, Paolo; Rasse, Daniel P.; Weiner, Steve; Trumbore, Susan E.: Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property. Nature 478 (7367), 2011, 49-56.
Bradford, Mark A.; Carey, Chelsea J.; Atwood, Lesley; Bossio, Deborah; Fenichel, Eli P.; Gennet, Sasha; Fargione, Joseph; Fisher, Jonathan R. B.; Fuller, Emma; Kane, Daniel A.; Lehmann, Johannes; Oldfield, Emily E.; Ordway, Elsa M.; Rudek, Joseph; Sanderman, Jonathan; Wood, Stephen A.: Soil carbon science for policy and practice. Nature Sustainability 2 (12), 2019, 1070-1072 more…BibTeX
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Hestrin, Rachel; Hammer, Edith C.; Mueller, Carsten W.; Lehmann, Johannes: Synergies between mycorrhizal fungi and soil microbial communities increase plant nitrogen acquisition. Communications Biology 2 (1), 2019 more…BibTeX
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Inagaki, Thiago M.; Mueller, Carsten W.; Lehmann, Johannes; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid: Andosol clay re-aggregation observed at the microscale during physical organic matter fractionation. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 182 (2), 2019, 145-148 more…BibTeX
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Kleber, Markus; Lehmann, Johannes: Humic Substances Extracted by Alkali Are Invalid Proxies for the Dynamics and Functions of Organic Matter in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Quality 48 (2), 2019, 207-216 more…BibTeX
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Kölbl, Angelika; Bucka, Franziska; Marschner, Petra; Mosley, Luke; Fitzpatrick, Rob; Schulz, Stefanie; Lueders, Tillmann; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid: Consumption and alteration of different organic matter sources during remediation of a sandy sulfuric soil. Geoderma 347, 2019, 220-232 more…BibTeX
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Mayer, Stefanie; Kölbl, Angelika; Völkel, Jörg; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid: Organic matter in temperate cultivated floodplain soils: Light fractions highly contribute to subsoil organic carbon. Geoderma 337, 2019, 679-690 more…BibTeX
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Vermeulen, Sonja; Bossio, Deborah; Lehmann, Johannes; Luu, Paul; Paustian, Keith; Webb, Christopher; Augé, Flore; Bacudo, Imelda; Baedeker, Tobias; Havemann, Tanja; Jones, Ceris; King, Richard; Reddy, Matthew; Sunga, Ishmael; Von Unger, Moritz; Warnken, Matthew: A global agenda for collective action on soil carbon. Nature Sustainability 2 (1), 2019, 2-4 more…BibTeX
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Woolf, Dominic; Lehmann, Johannes: Microbial models with minimal mineral protection can explain long-term soil organic carbon persistence. Scientific Reports 9 (1), 2019 more…BibTeX
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2016
Paustian, Keith; Lehmann, Johannes; Ogle, Stephen; Reay, David; Robertson, G. Philip; Smith, Pete: Climate-smart soils. Nature 532 (7597), 2016, 49-57 more…BibTeX
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Solomon, Dawit; Lehmann, Johannes; Fraser, James A; Leach, Melissa; Amanor, Kojo; Frausin, Victoria; Kristiansen, Søren M; Millimouno, Dominique; Fairhead, James: Indigenous African soil enrichment as a climate-smart sustainable agriculture alternative. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 14 (2), 2016, 71-76 more…BibTeX
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