Gonzales et al. in Ecohydrology (2018) used a computational fluid dynamics modeling approach to investigate the sediment trapping efficiencies of vegetation canopies in a grassland encroached by shrubs and related the results to spatial heterogeneity in soil texture and infiltration.

Gonzales*, H., S. Ravi, J, Li and J. Sankey (2018), Ecohydrological implications of  sediment trapping by sparse vegetation in drylands: A CFD approach, Ecohydrology, https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1986.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eco.1986

Interesting paper by Branimir (Undergraduate research assistant, BS Environmental Science 2017)

Large‐scale application of biochar has been promoted as a strategy for improving soil quality in agricultural and contaminated lands, as biochar has the potential to alter soil physical and biogeochemical properties. Biochar at different concentrations has been shown to have inconsistent effects on soil hydrological properties, yet the cause of the inconsistency is not well understood. Trifunovic et al., investigated the relative roles of biochar size and concentration on hydraulic properties of a model geomedia.

Congrats Branko ! Branimir is currently a graduate student (Department of Plant & Soil) at the University of Delaware

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ldr.2906

Trifunovic, B., Gonzales, H.,  S. Ravi, and B. Sharratt (2018), Dynamic effects of biochar concentration and particle size on hydraulic properties of biochar – amended sand, Land Degradation & Development, 29(4), 884-893 [Wiley, IF: 9.8]

Li & Ravi (2018) in J. Arid Environ. (Elsevier) – The grain-size distribution and the saturated hydraulic conductivity are heterogeneous for the dune-interdune system with different morphological features suggesting that the relative contributions of aeolian and hydrological processes are distinct in the evolution of nebkhas.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140196318301496

Li, J., and S. Ravi (2018), Interactions among hydrological-aeolian processes and vegetation determine grain-size distribution of sediments in a semi-arid coppice dune (nebkha) system, J. Arid Environments, 154, 24-33. [Elsevier, IF: 2.3]

New publication by David Dukes (MS, Geology 2018) in Journal of Geophysical Research (American Geophysical Union/Wiley) investigated the applicability of a novel tracer technique—the use of multiple rare earth elements (REE)—to quantify aeolian sediment transport and to identify sources and sinks of sediments in fire-affected landscapes. David’s study presents a first step toward developing a valuable tool to monitor the ecogeomorphic response of these landscapes to changing climate, disturbance, and management scenarios. Congrats David !

David is currently a PhD student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2017JG004284

Dukes, D., H. Gonzales, S. Ravi, D. Grandstaff,  J. Li, J. Sankey, G. Wang, and S. Van Pelt (2018), Quantifying post-fire aeolian sediment transport using rare earth element tracers,  J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosciences, doi:10.1002/2017JG004284. [American Geophysical Union & Wiley, IF: 3.4]

American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 2017.

• Choi, C., J. Macknick and S. Ravi, Opportunities for co-location of solar PV with agriculture for cost reductions and carbon, water, and energy footprint mitigation in the tropics, American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 2017.
• Cagle, A., C. S. Choi, S. Ravi , J. Macknick, and R. Bickhart, Impacts of Solar PV Arrays on Physicochemical Properties of Soil, American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 2017.
• Wang, G., J. Li, S. Ravi, D. Dukes, H. Gonzales, J. Sankey and S. van Pelt, Effects of Fire on the Plant-Soil Interactions in Northern Chihuahuan Desert, American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 2017.

Invited speaker at Drylands, Deserts and Desertification 2017:

Combating Desertification and Dryland Management-Theory and Practice November 6-9, 2017, UNCCD, Sde Boker, Israel
http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/desertification/Pages/default.aspx

Graduate student Chong Seok Choi conducting research in Bogor, Indonesia on the opportunities to incorporate micro-scale renewable (solar) energy into existing cropping systems. The project goal is develop colocated crop-solar PV systems to maximize the efficiency of agricultural land along with providing several co-benefits (rural electrification, employment generation, energy for processing agricultural commodities locally)

Ravi, S. Solar-Agriculture colocation: Synergies and Tradeoffs, The 6th IPB talks on Complexity and Sustainability Sciences: Renewable Energy and Agriculture , Bogor, Indonesia, August 2017. (INVITED Speaker and panelist).

Graduate student Chong Seok Choi and undergraduate researcher Alex Cagle at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s solar energy test site near Golden, Colorado. They are conducting field experiments to investigate the environmental impacts (on soil properties and hydrological processes) of large solar energy infrastructures. (funded by DoE)

In summer 2017, Sujith Ravi was an invited visiting professor at the Intitute of Desert Control Science & Engineering, IMAU, Huhhot, Inner Mongolia.