Desert StudiesJack Scherer

Jack Scherer is a first-year master's student in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University. Jack's research explores how different intensities of agriculture alter relationships between plants, soil fungi, and bacteria. Studying how soil communities differ between natural and agricultural soils shows the effects of converting land to agricultural use.

Relationships between plants and soil are the foundation of life on land. Understanding how agricultural practices affect these relationships can inform farmers as they balance crop yields with long-term soil health. Jack's project investigates how different agricultural practices affect plant-soil relationships. Jack will compare low-input traditional farms to high-input industrial farms. DNA sequencing will be used to observe how soil microbial communities change when land is converted to agricultural use.