Vander Luis Novaes Nunes

Title

Temporary Assistant Professor, Soil Management & Sustainable Agriculture

Office Building

Raven Precision Agriculture Center

Office

213

Mailing Address

Raven Precision Ag Building 213
Agronomy, Horticulture & Plant Science-Box 2100A
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

Biography

Dr. Nunes was born and raised in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he spent his early years in an agricultural region known for its production of coffee, corn, soybean, and dairy products. He earned his B.S. degree in Agronomy, during which he was awarded three scientific initiation scholarships to conduct research focused on Soil Fertility.

Continuing his academic journey, Dr. Nunes pursued M.S./Ph.D. degrees in Soil Science and Plant Nutrition at the Federal University of Viçosa. Conducting research related to the development, characterization, and evaluation of novel amendments and fertilizers for crop production.

For four years, Dr. Nunes had the opportunity to work as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Illinois University at Urbana Champaign, where he gained expertise in applying isotopic techniques to perform, laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments. His research was focused on increasing nutrient uptake efficiency by crops, the development of methods of soil analysis, and sustainable agricultural practices.

During his M.S., Ph.D., and Postdoc, Dr. Nunes was involved in teaching labs for undergraduate courses and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students on laboratory research.

Dr. Nunes joined SDSU in August 2023 with a research focus in Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Management.

Education

Ph.D. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 2015-2019
Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil)
Thesis: “Use of alginate, mesoporous carbon, and layered double hydroxides
to improve nitrogen fertilizers”

M.S., Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 2013-2015
Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil)
Thesis: “Characterization of Irecê phosphate processing by-products and their
evaluation as a liming material and phosphorus source”

B.S., Agronomy 2009-2013
Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil)
Concentration: Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Academic Interests

Sustainable Agriculture
Soil Nutrient Management
Development of Methods of Soil Analysis

Grants

Assessing the importance of free-living nitrogen fixation in organic systems. Richard Mulvaney (PI), Vander Nunes, Angela Kent, & Carmen Ugarte. NIFA-USDA Program Area: Soil Health. 2021-2024. Award: $749,390.

Combining soil fertility and biological measurements to improve corn N rate
recommendations. Jason Clark (PI), Péter Kovács, Chris Graham, Vander Nunes, & Anthony Bly. 2024-2027. Award: annual budget for 2024 of $98,914.

Professional Memberships

American Society of Agronomy
Crop Science Society of America
Soil Science Society of America
Soil Science Society of Brazil

Work Experience

Postdoctoral Researcher 2019-2023
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Mentor: Richard L. Mulvaney
Concentration: Soil fertility, Soil chemistry, Isotopic techniques, Soil Nitrogen
Transformations, Development of Methods of Soil Analysis, Free-living 15N2
fixation, Organic and Sustainable Agriculture.

Area(s) of Research

My research is focused on soil fertility, with emphasis on the use of stable isotopes to study soil and fertilizer nitrogen transformations in agricultural systems. The goal is to develop and test regenerative agricultural practices with the potential to enhance environmental quality while increasing soil health and maintaining profitability for producers.
Specific research includes:

(i) Development of methods of soil analysis (e.g.: potentially mineralizable nitrogen and free-living 15N2 fixation).

(ii) Development, characterization, and evaluation of climate-smart nitrogen fertilizers.

(iii) Combining chemical and biological methods to improve corn nitrogen rate recommendations.

(iv) Effect of sustainable agricultural practices on the free-living nitrogen fixation in agricultural systems.

(v) Evaluation of different cereal varieties and their ability to enhance free-living nitrogen fixation.

(vi) Adoption of regenerative agriculture practices for improving soil health of saline and sodic soils.

Applications of Research

Most Significant Publications:

Nunes, V. L. N. and R. L. Mulvaney. 2024. A simplified version of the
Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test. Soil Science Society of America Journal.
Manuscript under review

Griesheim K. L., R. L. Mulvaney, T. J. Smith, V. L. N. Nunes, and A. J.
Hertzberger. 2023. Isotopic comparison of fertilizer nitrogen forms applied
in-season to corn. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 87:555−571.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20531

Nunes V. L. N, and R. L., Mulvaney. 2021. Controlling organic interference in
determination of soil mineral nitrogen. Soil Science Society of America
Journal. 85:919−928.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20216

Nunes V. L. N, and R. L., Mulvaney. 2021. Rapid saturation–diffusion method
to determine cation-and anion-exchange capacities in soil. Communications
in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 52:76−91.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2020.1849264

Sellars S., and V. L. N Nunes. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer in the U.S.
ARTICLES farmdoc daily. Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 11:24, February 12, 2021

Nunes V. L. N., R. L. Mulvaney, R. B. Cantarutti, F. G. Pinto, and J. Tronto. 2020.
Improving nitrate fertilization by encapsulating Zn-Al Layered double
hydroxides in alginate beads. Nitrogen. 1:125−136.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen1020011

Nunes, V. L. N., R. L. Mulvaney, J. Tronto, and R. B. Cantarutti. 2020. Potential
of alginate and mesoporous carbon to improve the fertilizer value of urea.
Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 51:2257-2269.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2020.1822378

Nunes, V. L. N., R. L. Mulvaney, and K. L. Griesheim. 2019. Simple diffusion
methods for determination of nonexchangeable ammonium in soils. Soil
Science Society of America Journal. 83:1421-1430.
Link: https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2019.05.0167

Department(s)

Image for Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science