Weindorf conducts soil project in Romania
On March 3-13, David C. Weindorf, assistant professor in the School of Plant, Environmental & Soil Sciences, and two of his graduate students, Beatrix Haggard and Stephanie Johnson, traveled to Cluj, Romania, to conduct ongoing research in soil temperatures of the Transylvanian Plain. The project represents a joint collaboration between LSU, the LSU AgCenter and Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară (USAMV) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. During this trip, Weindorf, Haggard and Johnson deployed additional data-logging stations to monitor soil temperatures, collected data from existing stations, and collected soil samples for physicochemical analysis.
USAMV hosted a press conference, which resulted in coverage of the visit in local newspapers and an hour-long TV program produced by Tele Europa Nova entitled “Planeta Verde.” Additionally, Weindorf met with administrators of USAMV to ratify a second collabortive agreement between USAMV, LSU and the LSU AgCenter to facilitate faculty-student exchange and collaborative research between the three parties.
Following their visit to Romania, the three were invited to speak at a two-day conference in Ancona, Italy, entitled “Two Days of Soil” hosted by Universita Politecnica Delle Marche (UPDE). Weindorf, Haggard and Johnson presented original research on new technologies in soil survey, high resolution soils mapping and soil morphology. Additionally, they viewed research underway by UPDE pedologists and discussed future collaborations and granting opportunities. Writer: Jonathan Hubchen
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