Dave Emde: Soil Science Researcher

About me

My path to soil science began unexpectedly. After returning to university as an adult I took a research assistant position in the Jones Soil Lab at UBC Okanagan. The collaborative culture of that lab reshaped my trajectory, prompting me to shift my bachelor’s focus to biology and computer science. I followed that curiosity into a master’s thesis exploring how irrigation influences soil organic carbon and mineral-associated organic matter deficits. Taking on research affiliate and technician roles with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada only deepened my enthusiasm for the field.

By blending ecological insight and complex data with computational tools, I aim to generate research that lays the groundwork for policy and drives real-world, evidence-based solutions. I believe global problems require local solutions, and I am eager to continue working with experts worldwide to advance our understanding of how soil fits into the climate change mitigation puzzle.

Education

Doctorate Soil Science (successfully defended Dec 2025)

Thünen Institute of Climate Smart Agriculture
Technical University of Berlin

PhD Dissertation: Long-term impact of land-use change on soil organic carbon in German agriculture and forests

M.Sc. Biology (2022)
B.Sc. Biology and Computer Science (2019)

The University of British Columbia Okanagan

M.Sc. Thesis: Understanding the impact of irrigated agriculture on soil organic carbon storage

Research Experience

Wissenschaflicher Mitarbeiter/PhD Candidate
Thünen Institute of Climate Smart Agriculture - Braunschweig, Germany

Technical University of Berlin - Berlin, Germany

Complex data management of national soil inventories and open data sources. Soil carbon modelling and development of novel frameworks for soil carbon analysis through time.

Research Technician and Research Affiliate

Agriculture and Agri-food Canada - British Columbia and Ontario, Canada

Soil sample processing and data analysis including extensive experience with R, data-wrangling and large datasets. Data aggregation for national genomics project.

Graduate Research Assistant

The Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services - UBCO

Sample collection and processing for studies involving perennial crop health and fruit quality metrics, soil health, and microbial population studies.

Conference Presentations and Seminars

2024

The centennial legacy of land-use change on organic carbon stocks of German agricultural soils
EGU 2024 Annual Meeting - Vienna, Austria (2024)

The centennial legacy of land-use change on organic carbon stocks of German agricultural soils

Invited seminar at Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada - Summerland, Canada (2024)

2023

Long-term impact of land-use change on soil organic carbon in German agriculture
DBG 2023 Annual Meeting - Halle, Germany (2023)

Long-term impact of land-use change on soil organic carbon in German agriculture
EGU 2023 Annual Meeting - Vienna, Austria (2023)

2022

Irrigation induced changes in soil organic carbon stocks of agricultural soil: what do we really know?
Frontiers in experimental research on changing environments - Leipzig, Germany (2022)

Soil organic carbon in irrigated agricultural systems: A meta-analysis
Annual meeting of the Agricultural Climate Action Research Network - BC, Canada (2022)

2021

Estimating MAOM deficits in soils of woody perennial crops in the Okanagan: A regional study
Canadian Society of Soil Science 2021 Annual Meeting - PEI, Canada (2021)

Managing orchards and vineyards for climate friendly outcomes

BC Foodweb workshop - Canada (2021)

Manuscript Reviews

Agronomy Journal ASA
Geoderma
Global Change Biology
Global Environmental Change Advances
Nature Communications Earth & Environment
Plant and Soil

Society Memberships

Canadian Society of Soil Science
German Soil Science Society
European Geosciences Union