Markus Kleber

Professor, Soil System Science
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Office: 541-737-5718

Agricultural & Life Sciences

Agricultural & Life Sciences 3067

2750 SW Campus Way

2750 SW Campus Way
Corvallis, OR 97331

The processes at the interface between organic matter and mineral surfaces, including mineral surface properties, organic matter properties, bonding mechanisms, adsorption processes, mineral-microbial interactions, and organic matter turnover dynamics.

Projects:

  • Organic carbon accumulation in Umbric Ferralsols. Laspau. Graduate Student: Pedro Henrique Rodrigues de Moraes Martinez, (PhD)
  • A Mechanistic Understanding of PFAS in Source Zones: Characterization and Control. SERDP. Lead PI: Jennifer Field. Graduate Student: Tom Wanzek (PhD)
  • Strengthening Soil Health to Suppress Verticillium Wilt in Potato Production Systems. Northwest Potato Research Consortium. Graduate Student: Larisa LaMere (MSc)
  • Which cover crop varieties can improve soil quality in Central Oregon ? ARF. Lead PI: Clare Sullivan. Central Analytical Laboratory.  Lab Manager: Gloria Ambrowiak. Faculty Research Assistant: Adam Fund
  • Solidifying the Oregon Soil Health Assessment. NRCS. Central Analytical Laboratory. Gloria Ambrowiak. Faculty Research Assistant: Adam Fund

Profile Field Tabs

At OSU
Affiliated with: 
Crop and Soil Science
Career Links: 
Department of Crop and Soil Science
Advanced Light Source (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab)
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (Richland, WA)
Do you accept grad students?: 
I accept graduate students for the Crop and Soil Science Department
Courses Taught: 

SOIL 388 Soil Systems and Plant Growth (Ecampus, Fall Term, with Adam Lindsley)

Introduces soils as providers of critical resources for plant growth. Explains how soils supply water, air, thermal energy and nutrients to plants. Shows that sustainable management of soil resources requires substantial understanding of their role in the functioning of natural, forest, and agricultural systems. Explains controls on stocks and availabilities of individual soil resources and mechanisms making these resources plant-available.

SOIL 525  Mineral-organic interactions (Winter Term)

Treats soil as the interface between organic and mineral components. Introduces molecular scale properties of major system components (mineral types and forms of soil organic matter). Shows how interactions between minerals and organics determine the special nature of the soil "bioreactor". Course is focused on biogeochemical processes that determine soil organic matter turnover.

SOIL 512   Soil analysis (Field Excursion, Summer Term, with Gloria Ambrowiak and Adam Fund)

Demonstration of soil management challenges in agroecosystems, soil resource assessments for the major soil orders used for the production of field and horticultural crops in Oregon; demonstration of soil sampling techniques.  Individual and group activities; discussion of the decision-making process for soil resource assessments.  5 day duration with three - four overnight stays on campgrounds. A field trip fee will be charged.

SOIL 514 Soil analysis (Laboratory, Summer Term, with Gloria Ambrowiak and Adam Fund)

Provide the theoretical background as well as practical experience needed to plan, select, execute and interpret the soil chemical and physical analyses used for nutrient management recommendations. Individual and group activities; involves classroom presentations as well as hands – on work in a teaching laboratory. Samples processed are those collected in the course of preceding Field Course SOIL 514. Duration  five (5) full work days. A lab fee will be charged.

My Publications

2018

Journal Article

T. A. Wanzek, Keiluweit, M., Baham, J., Dragila, M. Ines, Fendorf, S., Fiedler, S., Nico, N. P. S., and Kleber, M., “Quantifying biogeochemical heterogeneity in soil systems”, Geoderma, vol. 324, pp. 89-97, 2018.

2016

Journal Article

M. Keiluweit, Nico, P. S., Kleber, M., and Fendorf, S., “Are oxygen limitations under recognized regulators of organic carbon turnover in upland soils?”, Biogeochemistry, vol. 12, no. 2-3, pp. 157 - 171, 2016.
P. N. Reardon, Chacon, S. S., Walter, E. D., Bowden, M. E., Washton, N. M., and Kleber, M., “Abiotic Protein Fragmentation by Manganese Oxide: Implications for a Mechanism to Supply Soil Biota with Oligopeptides”, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 7, pp. 3486 - 3493, 2016.
A. Andersen, Reardon, P. N., Chacon, S. S., Qafoku, N. P., Washton, N. M., and Kleber, M., “Protein–Mineral Interactions: Molecular Dynamics Simulations Capture Importance of Variations in Mineral Surface Composition and Structure”, Langmuir, vol. 32, no. 24, pp. 6194 - 6209, 2016.

2015

Book

M. Kleber, Eusterhues, K., Keiluweit, M., Mikutta, C., Mikutta, R., and Nico, P. S., Advances in AgronomyMineral–Organic Associations: Formation, Properties, and Relevance in Soil Environments, vol. 130. Elsevier, 2015, pp. 1 - 140.

Book Chapter

J. Lehmann, Abiven, S., Kleber, M., Pan, G., Singh, B. P., Sohi, S., and Zimmerman, A., “Persistence of Biochar in Soil”, in Biochar for Environmental Management: Science, Technology and Implementation, Second., 2015.
M. Kleber, Hockaday, W. C., and Nico, P., “Characteristics of Biochar: Macro-Molecular Properties”, in Biochar for Environmental Management: Science, Technology and Implementation, Second., 2015.

Journal Article

J. Lehmann and Kleber, M., “The contentious nature of soil organic matter”, Nature, vol. 11, 2015.
M. Kaiser, Kleber, M., and Berhe, A. Asefaw, “How air-drying and rewetting modify soil organic matter characteristics: An assessment to improve data interpretation and inference”, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol. 80, pp. 324 - 340, 2015.
D. B. Wiedemeier, Abiven, S., Hockaday, W. C., Keiluweit, M., Kleber, M., Masiello, C. A., McBeath, A. V., Nico, P. S., Pyle, L. A., Schneider, M. P. W., Smernik, R. J., Wiesenberg, G. L. B., and Schmidt, M. W. I., “Aromaticity and degree of aromatic condensation of char”, Organic Geochemistry, vol. 78, pp. 135 - 143, 2015.

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