L. Rex Ellis

Assistant Research Scientist
Environmental Pedology

DEPARTMENTAL RESEARCH AREAS
Soil/Landscape Analysis
Wetlands and Aquatic Systems

RESEARCH FOCUS
The pedology of hydric (mainly subaqueous) soils in estuaries, near-shore marine, ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. Overall research goal is to better understand the morphologies, physical/chemical properties, and spatial distribution of these soils related to subaqueous soil forming factors. Within the general categories of factors such as parent material, specific factors of focus are vegetative cover, landscape position, landscape geography, and hydrology. Current research is focused on estuarine and near-shore marine subaqueous soils supporting seagrasses.

This focus includes:

• Documenting soil morphologies as they relate to seagrass species, density, and geography
• Characterizing physical and chemcial properties of soils supporting seagrassesInvestigating spatial and temporal variability of soils and seagrasses 
• Developing technologies and methods for sampling and analyzing subaqueous  soil
• Developing soil/landscape relationships useful in applications such as subaqueous soil survey and subaqueous habitat restoration
• Developing spatial techniques for visualizing subaqueous landscapes

SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Hurt, G.W., Ellis, L.R., Sub-aqueous Soil Morphology Indicators in Recharge Sandhill Lakes. In Technology News, Clark, L.E., Mausbach, M.J. (Eds.) USDA/NRCS, Washington D.C.

Ellis, L.R., M.E. Collins, and G.W. Hurt. 200_. Using hydric and subaqueous soil morphologies to determine historical stage fluctuations in a Florida sandhill lake. In preparation for submission.

Ellis, L.R., M.E. Collins, and K.C. Fischler. 200_. Developing guidelines for the creation of subaqueous digital elevation models from transect-oriented bathymetry: avoiding interpolation artifacts. In preparation for submission.

Ellis, L.R., M.E. Collins, and G.W. Hurt. 200_. Subaqueous soil/vegetation relationships in a subtropical system of shallow seagrass flats near Cedar Key, FL. In preparation for submission.

Ellis, L.R., M.E. Collins, and G.W. Hurt. 200_. Soil/landscape relationships in a near-shore subtropical estuary. In preparation for submission.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Soil and Water Science Department, 2169 McCarty Hall, PO Box 110290, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611
(352) 392.1951 x 240, (352) 392.3902 fax
email: rexellis@ufl.edu
Full Curriculum Vitae