Dr. Ed Gregorich

Research Scientist

Soil carbon cycling and sequestration; effects of changes induced by land management and agricultural practices on soil health.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Ottawa, Ontario

Current research and/or projects

Understanding mechanisms in the biological stabilization of soil carbon
Managing carbon to promote soil productivity, health, and biodiversity in Canadian farmlands
Sustainable crop production in Canada under climate change
Supporting local food security by addressing challenges facing field production of vegetables in boreal and northern communities (collaborator)
Use of legume crops to enhance N use efficiency, carbon sequestration, soil health and soil biodiversity in three ecoregions chosen to represent the different climatic conditions of Canada (collaborator)
Elucidating and exploiting rhizosphere processes for improved soil health and productivity
Inferring the influence of agricultural management and other human activities on soil constituents relevant to soil health and function
Promoting soil carbon, biodiversity and health

Professional activities / interests

2006-present Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies

2005-2007 Chair, Soil Biology and Biochemistry Division, Soil Science Society of America

2002-2005 President, Canadian Society of Soil Science

2002-2006 Adjunct Professor, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

2002-2005 Scientific advisor, US Consortium for Agricultural Soil Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases

2001 Member of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II. Lead author of Chapter 15 - North America. IPCC Third Assessment Report

2000-2003 Secretary, Canadian Agricultural Research Committee – Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration

1994-1997 Adjunct Professor, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec

Education and awards

Education

1989: Ph.D., Soil Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

1984: M.Sc., Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

1982: B.Sc., Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

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Awards

2008: Member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Geneva, Switzerland), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for “their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.” Recognized by the IPCC and the Minister of Environment Canada for contributions to the IPCC as coauthor of chapters in two IPCC reports.

2007: Fellow, Soil Science Society of America

2007: Erskine Visiting Fellow, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ

2006: Fellow, Canadian Society of Soil Science

1996: Agcellence Award, the highest Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada departmental award, for exceptional accomplishments

International experience and/or work

2006-2011 Canadian project coordinator of VIETCANSOL, a Canadian International Development Agency project involving on-farm adoption of soil and water conservation methods and introducing high-value crops in the mountainous zone of northern Vietnam

Key publications

Mi, J., Gregorich, E.G., Xu, S., McLaughlin, N.B., Ma, B., Liu, J. (2021). Changes in soil biochemical properties following application of bentonite as a soil amendment. European Journal of Soil Biology, [online] 102 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejsobi.2020.103251
2021 - View publication details
Mi, J., Gregorich, E.G., Xu, S., McLaughlin, N.B., Liu, J. (2020). Effect of bentonite as a soil amendment on field water-holding capacity, and millet photosynthesis and grain quality. Scientific Reports, [online] 10(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75350-9
2020 - View publication details
Habtewold, J.Z., Helgason, B.L., Yanni, S.F., Janzen, H.H., Ellert, B.H., Gregorich, E.G. (2020). Litter composition has stronger influence on the structure of soil fungal than bacterial communities. European Journal of Soil Biology, [online] 98 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejsobi.2020.103190
2020 - View publication details
Haddix, M.L., Gregorich, E.G., Helgason, B.L., Janzen, H., Ellert, B.H., Francesca Cotrufo, M. (2020). Climate, carbon content, and soil texture control the independent formation and persistence of particulate and mineral-associated organic matter in soil. Geoderma, [online] 363 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.114160
2020 - View publication details
Yanni, S.F., Helgason, B.L., Janzen, H.H., Ellert, B.H., Gregorich, E.G. (2020). Warming effects on carbon dynamics and microbial communities in soils of diverse texture. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, [online] 140 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.107631
2020 - View publication details
Libby, M.D., Vander Zaag, A.C., Gregorich, E.G., Wagner-Riddle, C. (2020). An improved laboratory method shows that freezing intensity increases n2o emissions. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, [online] 100(2), 136-149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjss-2019-0073
2020 - View publication details
Poeplau, C., Schroeder, J., Gregorich, E., Kurganova, I. (2019). Farmers' perspective on agriculture and environmental change in the circumpolar north of Europe and America. Land, [online] 8(12), http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/LAND8120190
2019 - View publication details
Zhang, Y., Li, X., Gregorich, E.G., McLaughlin, N.B., Zhang, X., Guo, Y., Gao, Y., Liang, A. (2019). Evaluating storage and pool size of soil organic carbon in degraded soils: Tillage effects when crop residue is returned. Soil & Tillage Research, [online] 192 215-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.05.013
2019 - View publication details
Beauchemin, S., Clemente, J.S., Thibault, Y., Langley, S., Gregorich, E.G., Tisch, B. (2018). Geochemical stability of acid-generating pyrrhotite tailings 4 to 5 years after addition of oxygen-consuming organic covers. Science of the Total Environment, [online] 645 1643-1655. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.261
2018 - View publication details
Zhang, Y., Li, X., Gregorich, E.G., McLaughlin, N.B., Zhang, X., Guo, Y., Liang, A., Fan, R., Sun, B. (2018). No-tillage with continuous maize cropping enhances soil aggregation and organic carbon storage in Northeast China. Geoderma, [online] 330 204-211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.05.037
2018 - View publication details
Zhang, L., Yang, X., Drury, C., Chantigny, M., Gregorich, E., Miller, J., Bittman, S., Dan Reynolds, W., Yang, J. (2018). Infrared spectroscopy estimation methods for water-dissolved carbon and amino sugars in diverse Canadian agricultural soils. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, [online] 98(3), 484-499. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjss-2018-0027
2018 - View publication details
Morrison, M.J., Cober, E.R., Gregorich, E.G., Voldeng, H.D., Ma, B., Topp, G.C. (2017). Tillage and crop rotation effects on the yield of corn, soybean, and wheat in eastern Canada. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, [online] 98(1), 183-191. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2016-0407
2017 - View publication details
Wu, L.F., Li, B.B., Qin, Y., Gregorich, E. (2017). Soil CO2 emission and carbon budget of a wheat/maize annual double-cropped system in response to tillage and residue management in the North China Plain. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, [online] 15(3), 253-263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2017.1288518
2017 - View publication details
Gregorich, E.G., Janzen, H., Ellert, B.H., Helgason, B.L., Qian, B., Zebarth, B.J., Angers, D.A., Beyaert, R.P., Drury, C.F., Duguid, S.D., May, W.E., McConkey, B.G., Dyck, M.F. (2017). Litter decay controlled by temperature, not soil properties, affecting future soil carbon, 23(4), 1725-1734. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13502
2017 - View publication details
Peltre, C., Gregorich, E.G., Bruun, S., Jensen, L.S., Magid, J. (2017). Repeated application of organic waste affects soil organic matter composition: Evidence from thermal analysis, FTIR-PAS, amino sugars and lignin biomarkers. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, [online] 104 117-127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.10.016
2017 - View publication details
Xueming Yang, Craig F. Drury, Shabtai Bittman, Martin Chantigny, Jim Miller, Edward G Gregorich, W. Dan Reynolds and Jingyi Yang. 2016. Applications of Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy to the Determinations of Soil Amino Sugars, POM-C and N and Water Soluble Carbon in Some Canadian Agricultural Soils. American Society of Agronomy | Crop Science Society of America | Soil Science Society of America, 2016-11-09. Phoenix, AZ. https://scisoc.confex.com/crops/2016am/webprogram/Paper99629.html
2016 - View publication details
Yanni, S.F., Janzen, H.H., Gregorich, E.G., Ellert, B.H., Larney, F.J., Olson, B.M., Zvomuya, F. (2016). Organic carbon convergence in diverse soils toward steady state: A 21-year field bioassay, 80(6), 1653-1662. http://dx.doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.07.0214
2016 - View publication details
Diochon, A., Gregorich, E.G., Kellman, L., Morrison, M., Ma, B.L. (2016). Greater soil C inputs accelerate loss of C in cropping systems with low N input. Plant and Soil, [online] 400(1-2), 93-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2718-8
2016 - View publication details
Diochon, A., Gillespie, A.W., Ellert, B.H., Janzen, H.H., Gregorich, E.G. (2016). Recovery and dynamics of decomposing plant residue in soil: An evaluation of three fractionation methods, 67(2), 196-205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12316
2016 - View publication details
Ma, B.L., Zheng, Z.M., Morrison, M.J., Gregorich, E.G. (2016). Nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition and stoichiometry in the response of maize to various N rates under different rotation systems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, [online] 104(1), 93-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10705-016-9761-6
2016 - View publication details