Environmental Soil Chemistry Lab

Teaching

I teach advanced courses that focus on the science of soil chemistry and its role in agricultural sustainability. These courses explore how chemical processes in soils impact nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and crop productivity. I emphasize the importance of understanding soil properties and how they vary across different environmental contexts, including local soil types, climate, and land management practices. Students learn how to apply this knowledge to develop sustainable farming practices that enhance soil health, optimize nutrient use, and support long-term agricultural productivity.

Phosphorus In Florida Watersheds: Science and Applications

This course, co-taught with Willie Harris in Soil Mineralogy, the objective of this course is to provide specialized training to professionals on conventional and recently developed techniques to evaluate soil phosphorus dynamics in Florida watersheds. The course includes topics such as determination of various forms of phosphorus in soils and how Florida soils interact with phosphorus. The application of conventional and recently developed techniques for understanding phosphorus retention and loss from soils that would impact the quality of water leaving a farm or a watershed will be discussed. Examples of using the newer techniques for understanding and solving real-world problems will be provided. For more information visit Course Overview

To access all the modules to the course visit Modules

Agroforestry: A five-part short course

An image advertising an Agroforestry course through the University of Florida School of Forestry, Fisheries, and Geomatic Sciences.

Courses available in this program:

Agroforestry I	Principles and Practices
Agroforestry II	Major Systems of the World
Agroforestry III	Principles of Plant and Soil Management
Agroforestry IV	Climate Change, Carbon Storage, and Agroforestry System
Agroforestry V	Ecosystem Services, Food Security, Sustainable Development

For more information: ffgs-online@ifas.ufl.edu | 352-294-7979 | website

Scientific Writing for Agriculture and Natural Resources Management-SWS 6932

SWS 6932 was taught during the Fall semesters from 2012 to 2019. A similar course was taught during the Summer A semesters from 2014 to 2016 across UF/IFAS. Details available in:

Nair, P.K.R., and V.D. Nair. 2014. Scientific Writing and Communication in Agriculture and Natural Resources. Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London. ISBN 978-3-319-03100-2. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-03101-9
(The e-book is a 2013 publication; ISBN 978-3-319-03101-9)

The course focused on building the capacity of graduate students in agriculture, environmental, and natural resource management to improve their skills in preparing dissertation proposals, theses/dissertations, research papers, and conference presentations. Participants developed manuscripts based on their own research, following the style and format of the tri-societies—the American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, and Crop Science Society of America (ASA/SSSA/CSSA). The course also covered a range of other scientific publications, including books and book chapters, technical reports, and extension publications. Additionally, it addressed the peer-review process, including how to respond to review comments, revise post-review, handle proof corrections, and develop the skills necessary for being potential reviewers of manuscripts.