School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences College of Science

Higher-Education

• 2014 Ph.D. University of California, Davis
• 2010 M.Sc. University of California, Davis
• 2007 B.Sc. Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil

Research Overview

My research program studies the dynamics of microbial-mediated biogeochemical processes in the soil. Currently, I am leading research projects on the following topics:

• Characterization of microbiomes within soil microenvironments.
• Assessment of carbon sequestration potential in restoration areas in South Texas.
• Improvement of crop energy balance through plant-microbe associations.
• Sweet potato as a potentially profitable summer crop for South Texas organic farmers.

Publications

• Conz, R.F., Six, J., Andrade, M.I., Pereira, E. (2021). Soil fertility maintenance with organic amendments to orange fleshed sweetpotato. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. DOI: 10.1007/s10705-020-10111-8 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10705-020-10111-8
• Navarro, J., Salazar, J., Kang, J. J., Parsons, J., Cheng, C. L., Castillo, A., Pereira, E. I. P. (2020). Compost and Biochar to Promote Soil Biological Activities under Sweet Potatoes Cultivation in a Subtropical Semiarid Region. Applied and Environmental Soil Science v. 2020: 7230595, 11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7230595
• Pereira, E.I.P., Lechot, J., Conz, R. F., Cardoso, A. S., Six, J. (2019). Biochar enhances nitrous oxide reduction in acidic but not in near-neutral pH soil. Soil Systems. 3:4, 69. Loaiza-Puerta, V., Six, J., Wittwer, R., van der Heijden, M., Pereira, E.I.P., (2019). Comparable bacterial-mediated nitrogen supply and losses under organic reduced tillage and conventional intensive tillage. European Journal of Soil Biology v. 95, 103121. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3040069
• Loaiza-Puerta, V., Pereira, E.I.P., Huang, P., Wittwer, R., Six, J. (2019). Soil microhabitats mediate microbial response in organic reduced tillage cropping. Applied Soil Ecology 137, 39 – 48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2019.01.009
• Seitz, S., Goebes, P., Loaiza-Puerta, V., Pereira, E., Wittwer, R., Six, J., van der Heijden, M., Scholten, T. (2019). Conservation tillage and organic farming reduce soil erosion. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 39:4, 1 – 10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-018-0545-z
• Viviana Loaiza Puerta, Engil Pereira, Raphaël Wittwer, Marcel van der Heijden, and Johan Six. "Improvement of soil structure through organic crop management, conservation tillage and grass-clover ley," Soil and Tillage Research 180, (2018): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2018.02.007
• Ping Huang, Jiabao Zhang, Anning Zhu, Xiaopeng Li, Donghao Ma, Xiuli Xin, Congzhi Zhang, Shengjun Wu, Gina Garland, and Engil Pereira. "Nitrate accumulation and leaching potential reduced by coupled water and nitrogen management in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain," Science of The Total Environment 610, (2018): 1020-1028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.127
• Elizabeth Verhoeven, Engil Pereira, Charlotte Decock, Gina Garland, Taryn Kennedy, Emma Suddick, William Horwath, and Johan Six. "N2O emissions from California farmlands: A review," California Agriculture 71, no. 3 (2017): 148-159.
• Engil Pereira, Rafaela Conz, and Johan Six. "Nitrogen utilization and environmental losses in organic greenhouse lettuce amended with two distinct biochars," Science of the Total Environment 598, (2017): 1169-1176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.04.062
• Elizabeth Verhoeven, Engil Pereira, Charlotte Decock, Emma Suddick, Teri Angst, and Johan Six. "Toward a Better Assessment of Biochar–Nitrous Oxide Mitigation Potential at the Field Scale," Journal of Environmental Quality 46, no. 2 (2017): 237-246. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2016.10.0396

Present Courses

• ENVR 4320 – Fundamentals of Soil Science
• ENVR 4321 – Soil Ecology
• EEMS 5360 – Soil Science and Conservation