Professional Summary:

Carolina Brandani, PhD. is an associate research scientist with Texas A&M AgriLife, Amarillo. She is interested in how land use and land management practices impact carbon and nitrogen cycling in crop and grassland ecosystems. A major focus of her work involves developing climate-resilient agricultural systems through soil carbon sequestration, enhancing the use efficiency of agroecosystems, sustainable management of soils, and soil health. Current research projects are focused on understanding soil C dynamics in semi-desert agroecosystems, including the decomposition of above and belowground biomass as affected by management practices such as the application of manure in soils. She is also developing along with the Manureshed Working Group-LTAR a cross-site experiment to describe the major soil management practices adopted in different agricultural systems according to the source of manure applied, and document the geographic distribution of the main sources of manure used in agricultural systems adopted across the U.S. and Canada.

Previously, Dr. Brandani was a researcher scientist senior at New Mexico State University – Department of Animal and Range Sciences, where her research program was focused on evaluating soil attributes and vegetation composition in rangelands of the Southwestern United States comparing legacy effects of grazing capacities. Before joining New Mexico State University, Dr. Brandani worked at the University of Florida as a postdoctoral fellow in the Long-term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network evaluating the effect of fire frequency and associating the use of chopping with fire on production and environmental responses in pine flatwood rangelands relative to unburnt areas. She also has experience working with different soil-plant systems such as forest plantations (Eucalyptus sp and Acacia mangium), sugarcane, and cultivated pastures, evaluating the effects of soil management on dynamics of soil organic matter, soil fertility, soil health indicators, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Research Areas of Expertise

Soil organic matter, carbon and nitrogen cycling, soil health indicators, physical fractions of soil organic matter, dynamic of residues decomposition, manure application on agroecosystems, sustainable soil management practices, and soil greenhouse gas emissions.

Selected Publications

1. Bento, C.B., C.B. Brandani, L. A. Martinelli, J. B. do Carmo, S. Filoso. 2021. Effects of extensive-to-intensive pasture conversion on soil nitrogen availability and CO2 and N2O fluxes in a Brazilian Oxisol. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment.<full text>
2. Kohmann, M. M., A. Saha, M. L. Silveira, E. H. Boughton, H. Swain, C. B. Brandani. 2021. Farm-scale Phosphorus Budgets for Beef Cow-Calf Operations in subtropical rangelands. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. <full text>
3. Quevedo, H. D., Brandani, C.B., C.B. Bento, L. M. Pitombo, P. J. Ferreira Filho, J. B. do Carmo. 2021. Greenhouse gas emissions from termite mounds in a transition area between the Cerrado savanna and the Atlantic forest in Brazil. Acta Ecologica. <full text>
4. Pereira, A. P.A., Santana, M. C., Zagato, M. R.G., Brandani, C. B., Wang, J.T., Verma, J. P.,Singh, B. K., Cardoso, E.J.B.N. 2020. Nitrogen-fixing trees in mixed forest systems regulate the ecology of fungal community and phosphorus cycling. Science of the total environment. <full text>
5. Kohmann, M.M., Silveira M.L., Akeuma, K., Brandani, C.B. 2020. Belowground biomass decomposition is driven by chemical composition in subtropical pastures and native rangelands” Agrosystem, Geosciences, and Environment. <full text>