Faculty Profiles
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Mark Bradford

E.H. Harriman Professor of Soils and Ecosystem Ecology

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My work focuses on the health, biology, ecology and carbon storage potential of forest and agricultural soils. I seek to develop knowledge that allows us to estimate how environmental change and management will affect the rates of carbon stabilization and decomposition processes, and hence how the size of soil organic carbon stores change in space and time. Such quantitative knowledge is necessary to connect impacts on soils to consequences for society and the environment, and to inform efforts that seek to better manage soils to restore the benefits they provide. The overall goal of my research is to provide the understanding and data necessary for reliable estimation of global change and management impacts on ecosystems, their feedbacks to the carbon cycle-climate system, and to inform the sustainable management of forests and a productive agriculture.

This professor is accepting doctoral students

Research Topics

Applied Ecology in Managed Forests
Carbon Cycle-Climate Feedbacks
Soil Carbon in Agricultural Systems
Soil Carbon, Litter Decomposition and Scaling Theory

Please see our lab webpage for a full description of current projects and what topics the various group members focus on.

As a teacher, my primary goal is to develop knowledge, questioning and application of biological and ecological understanding. My advising approach is geared toward the student’s objectives, and emphasizes the value of primary research for advancing understanding and effective application of scientific evidence. Formal classes at Yale include ‘Soil Science’ (taught every other spring), 'Ecosystem Science' (residential class taught each August during Orientation), and 'Synthesizing Science for Policy and Practice' (a new practicum class tied to a specific evidence need for policy and/or practice).

Education

B.S., University of Exeter, UK; Ph.D., University of Exeter and Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, UK.

Areas of Expertise