Johannes Lehmann
Established biochar systems science and used nanoscale microscopy to show soil organic matter persists through spatial arrangement and mineral association rather than ‘humic’ chemistry.
The record
- Standing
- active practice
- Based
- Cornell University · United States
- Focus area
- Biogeochemistry
- Works on
- biochar, terra preta, soil organic matter persistence, nanoscale spectromicroscopy, circular bionutrient economy.
Standing is this studio’s placement of the work, not a ranking of the person, and it is the one line here that is a judgement rather than a cited fact.
The work
Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of soil biogeochemistry at Cornell University and member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. His Amazonian terra preta research launched modern biochar science; his 2015 Nature review with Markus Kleber challenged the humic-substances paradigm. Co-editor of Biochar for Environmental Management (3rd edition, 2024) and Deputy Director of the National AI Institute on Land, Economy, Agriculture and Forestry (AI-LEAF).
Where to read them
- Johannes Lehmann — lab or personal site
- Lehmann & Kleber (2015) The contentious nature of soil organic matter, Nature
- Biochar for Environmental Management (2009, 2015, 2024)
- Lehmann et al. (2025) Biochar in the circular bionutrient economy, PNAS
Sources for this record
Corrections
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