Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

✨New Account👇🏽, follow us✨ Last week, we announced establishment of the UC Merced Earth Institute on the storied foundations of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute & merger w/ the Climate Institute I am honored to lead this next great chapter of Earth & Environmental Sci & Eng research on our campus

UC Merced Earth Institute@ucmearthinstitute.bsky.social

UC Merced Seirra Nevada Research Institute has merged with UC Merced Climate Institute to become the UC Merced Earth Institute! www.ucmerced.edu/news/2026/uc...

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

earth.ucmerced.eduDistinguished Climate Speaker Series: Dr. Jonathan Foley - UC Merced Earth InstituteClimate Despair is a real thing. It doesn't have to be. For the UC Merced Earth Institute's Fall '26 Distinguished Climate Speaker Series event, Dr. Jonathan Foley brings a message of science-backed h...

Central valley folx, join us for the UC Merced Earth Institute's @ucmearthinstitute.bsky.social Distinguished climate speaker event, with Jon Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social plus a great panel discussion on Monday 10/26/26 RSVP at tinyurl.com/JonFoley earth.ucmerced.edu/earth-instit...

doi.orgTwo decades of conservation agriculture enhances soil structure, carbon sequestration, and water retention in Mediterranean soilsAbstract. Conservation agriculture offers a pathway for enhancing soil health with climate co-benefits in Mediterranean agricultural systems. This study examined long-term impacts of combining reduced...

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

Teamrat

@teamrat.bsky.social

New paper led by Jennifer Alvarez-Sagrero made possible by Jeff Mitchell’s two decades of persistence in sustaining a remarkable 20-yr trial finds: 136% greater aggregate stability, double the surface-soil C stocks, and 12% greater water retention. @aaberhe.com @ucanr.edu doi.org/10.5194/soil...

Congratulations to the National Academy of Engineering class of 2026.

Our WiFi is healthier than yours “… And (we)'re like, 'It's better than yours' Damn right, it's better than yours I can teach you, but I have to charge" (Thanks to Fresno airport (FAT) staff and @teamrat.bsky.social, now I can’t get this Kelis song out of my head)

gov.ca.govAt the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, Governor Newsom signs his final bill — investing in California’s next generation of innovation | Governor of California

Go California! $7.5B CA Science Bond now heading to the ballot! The bond would establish the largest ever state-level investment in critical scientific research, including a new “Cal-ARPA” initiative, modernizing our public research facilities, and clinical trials. www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/30/a...

Applications are now open for the UC President's Postdoc Fellowship Reach out if you want to submit an applicaiton focused on environmental/soil sciences, biogeochemistry, climate change, & related areas As a former fellow, this is a program I highly recommend 4 ECRs interested in academic careers

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

New Phytologist

@newphyt.bsky.social

17 Sept

In #Profile: @aaberhe.com 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue #PlantScience

nature.comBuried underpants and a new definition of kissing win 2026 Ig Nobel prizesThe awards highlight weird, funny and improbable research that also makes you think.

3 Sept

A soil science Ig Nobel award for a study on what happens when u bury 1k pairs of underwear for 2months to determine biological activity in soil. A 25 nation citizen science study by Bender & van der Heijden from U Zurich #SoilScience #Biogeochemistry #Decomposition www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

Teamrat

@teamrat.bsky.social

2 Sept

Replying to @teamrat.bsky.social

The model is also available as an interactive cloud application, allowing you to predict water retention for one soil or hundreds at a time. soil-habit.streamlit.app #Soil #SoilPhysics #SoilHabit #MachineLearning #PedotransferFunctions

soil-habit.streamlit.appHABIT — Soil Water RetentionInteractive web app for (Hierarchical Attention-Based Inference with Transfer Learning), a pre-t...

doi.orgInterpretable Soil Water Retention Prediction Using Hierarchical Attention Networks With Uncertainty QuantificationExisting pedotransfer functions cannot reveal which soil properties control water retention at different soil moisture states Direct prediction with attention mechanisms achieves superior accurac...

3 Sept

I might be biased a bit, but this is a really neat paper. An elegant quantitative evidence of how a given soil's water retention behavior emerges from texture & structure together, not from texture as a base that structure simply modifies. HABIT outperforms Rosetta for predicting water retention.

Teamrat@teamrat.bsky.social

Our new paper on an interpretable pedotransfer function is out. Traditionally, PTFs predict the parameters of water retention models. This new model predicts water content directly and exposes its internal attention weights for interpretation. doi.org/10.1029/2025... #SoilScience #MachineLearning

3 Sept

Further, HABIT shows organic carbon's influence on water retention peaking at intermediate water potentials, consistent with its dual role in aggregation and surface sorption. Soil scientists and biogeochemists, this one's worth a look.

@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org

23 July

Hong Wong today became the third woman to win a Fields Medal. She started out as an earth science major. Her geophysics prof affirmed importance of math to science for her, ex. for explaining how seismic waves are used to map Earth’s interior ... math related to the Kakeya problem.

Quanta Magazine@quantamagazine.org

Last year, Hong Wang and Joshua Zahl presented a 127-page inductive argument proving the three-dimensional Kakeya set conjecture. For Wang, there was no celebration. Only more questions. Now Wang has won the Fields Medal. www.quantamagazine.org/hong-wang-wi...

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

Simon Evans

2 July

Did you know? Renewables have just overtaken coal as the world's largest source of electricity 34% – global renewable share, up 2x in 20yrs 48% – EU 37% – China 26% – US 24% – India

theonion.comChameleon Wishes Environment Would Occasionally Adapt To Him

29 June

The onion remains unmatched. theonion.com/chameleon-wi...

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

yperezrojas.bsky.social

@yperezrojas.bsky.social

20 June

Is using average soil moisture and temperature a "good" proxy for soil respiration? Not always. The relationship depends on depth, climate, and how strongly soil moisture and temperature are coupled with respiration processes. Excited to see my dissertation work getting published 🤗

JGR: Biogeosciences@jgrbiogeo.bsky.social

Jensen's Inequality Quantifies How Temporal Averaging of Moisture Inputs Affects Modeled Soil Respiration Across Continental Scales agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.comJensen's Inequality Quantifies How Temporal Averaging of Moisture Inputs Affects Modeled Soil Respiration Across Continental ScalesJensen's inequality diagnoses when episodic moisture events dominate over mean conditions in controlling simulated respiration Moisture distribution patterns, not absolute levels, control the mag...

newsweek.comThe Silent Casualty of War: Conflict's Hidden Environmental TollEcological damage from war can be vast and enduring, experts say, yet it continues—despite international legal protections.

17 June

War's environmental damage rarely makes headlines, but it should. The damage to natural ecosystems is real and long lasting. I spoke with Newsweek about the often-overlooked ecological toll of conflict that has been a focus of my research for over 25 years. www.newsweek.com/ecological-t...

15 June

I'm one of the voices in a new documentary, Groundswell, about soil & the value of regenerative practices in maintaining & restoring soil health Groundswell is from the team behind Kiss the Ground & Common Ground. It's narrated by Demi Moore & Woody Harrelson (check out my favorite soil necklace 😊 )

14 June

Joy is contagious! So happy for everyone in NYC … concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothin' you can't do #Knicksin5 #history #NBAfinals

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe@aaberhe.com

Let’s go Knicks!!! Yay 🏀!!

14 June

Let’s go Knicks!!! Yay 🏀!!

3 June

Came work with me at the emerging UC Merced Earth Institute. We have two open positions for a: 1) Grant Writer aprecruit.ucmerced.edu/JPF02181 2) Communications and Outreach Coordinator aprecruit.ucmerced.edu/JPF02180 Please share with your networks, and reach out if u have questions I can answer.

4 June

*Come work with me …

cbsnews.comUniversity of the Pacific eyes fall 2030 start for Stockton medical schoolA new medical school is planned for the University of the Pacific in Stockton, college officials and local leaders announced Thursday.

28 May

Interesting that two private universities in N. CA (Santa Clara Uni & Uni of the Pacific) have recently announced they are opening med schools. Meanwhile, Uni of California system and the State of California are still planning for the next medical school that is supposedly coming to UC Merced. 🤔🤔

CBS News Sacramento@cbsnewssacramento.bsky.social

University of the Pacific eyes fall 2030 start for Stockton medical school

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

Joe Mason

@moreorloess.bsky.social

4 May

Replying to @moreorloess.bsky.social

The moisture regime of buried soils can change through both climate change and erosional exposure. Latest from a project by a great team including @aaberhe.com, @emsaurios.bsky.social, @teamrat.bsky.social and many others. Glad to see my old friend the Brady Soil get so much well-deserved attention.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

Teamrat

@teamrat.bsky.social

5 May

Teneille Nel’s presenting at EGU results from the collaborative work of Manisha Dolui @moreorloess.bsky.social @emsaurios.bsky.social @aaberhe.com and many others. Here is the paper fresh off the press: soil.copernicus.org/articles/12/...

29 Apr

This has been a heavy week all around. I want to take a moment to remember two dynamic colleagues we suddently lost from our academic community in the last few days. They were both doing important work and meant a lot to their respective communities. May their souls rest in eternal peace.

29 Apr

Prof. YangQuan Chen, UC Merced, was a dynamic colleague. I had the honor of collaborting with him & benefited from his generosity. He brought infectious curiosity to everything he touched, from fractional calculus to drones & beyond. A huge loss for his family, students, the field & our university.

29 Apr

Prof. Adriana Romero-Olivares, UC Riverside, was doing incredible work on how fungi and ecosystems respond to global change. A rising voice, a dynamic scientist and educator, a young mother, wife and daughter gone far too soon. A huge loss. Her family, students and community are in my thoughts.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

The Onion

@theonion.com

25 Apr

Report: Every Place On Earth Has Wrong Amount Of Water https://theonion.com/report-every-place-on-earth-has-wrong-amount-of-water-1851544516/

23 Apr

Yay👩🏽‍🔬🎤🧪🎉! Congratulations to @ucmerced.bsky.social graduate student Tahirah Williams, who took home the first-place Slammy trophy at University of California systemwide Grad Slam AND won the People’s Choice award! Go Bobcats! @ucmgraddiv.bsky.social @uofcalifornia.bsky.social #scicomm

9 Apr

So wonderful to see the innovative design that includes composting toilet and preservation of pieces from the historic barn that was on the land before the UC Merced campus was built.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe@aaberhe.com

Congraulations to my LES dept colleagues Jessica Blois & Jason Sexton (past & current Faculty Directors of UC Merced Natural Reserve System) and team on the official opening of the Field Education and Research Center at the Merced Vernal Pools & Grassland Reserve today ucnature.org/reserves/mer...

9 Apr

7 Apr

Same. So heart breaking.

Mike Kaspari@mikekaspari.bsky.social

NSF LTER program “archived”. LTER=“Long Term Ecological Research”. This program has been incredibly successful, incredibly frugal for what they accomplish, and…of course…targeted by evil know-nothings. My heart is breaking.

eos.orgFY2027 Budget Request Slashes Billions in Science FundingThe Trump administration is requesting the cancellation of billions of dollars in funds for space science, renewable energy, carbon removal, and climate change education in its FY 2027 budget.

3 Apr

President's FY 2027 budget request is out today and requests major cuts to STEM funding, with implications for U.S. global competitiveness and S&T innovation. eos.org/research-and...

26 Mar

Wait, I know a person in this list! 🎉 Truly honored to be included among such an incredible group.

American Association for the Advancement of Science@aaas.org

Join us in congratulating the new 2025 AAAS Fellows class! This distinction is among the highest in the scientific community and honors scientists, engineers, and innovators whose efforts on behalf of science and its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished. https://bit.ly/4svrgaB

This past weekend, I had the honor of keynoting an event hosted by CSU Channel Islands, Oxnard College, & ACS CA Los Padres section. A student asked what I'd say 2 some1 excited about higher ed, but is horrified by today's political climate. It's an important question that deserves a serious answer.

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I grew up during political turmoil and war. My community faced many challenges. What kept me going in school during all that was something my parents instilled in me from early on. Money can disappear. Fame & beauty fade. Politics changes. "Education is the only lasting wealth in the world".

No government, no regime, no budget cut, can ever take away what you learned. That's yours for always. That's the whole point. So, to every student feeling uncertain right now: stay in. Education is always the right choice. Build or lean on a supportive community to help you through tough times.

My answer: education is always the right choice. Always. I can't think of anything better than learning and building a career where you spend your life chasing unanswered questions. That never goes out of style, no matter who's in office. No matter how politics change, or budget priorities change.

Of course, policy changes have real-life impacts on many levels. But none of that changes the value of what you learn. Don't let the noise of today pull you off your educational path. In my attempt to answer more questions, my answer to her was brief. But, I should've also said ...

17 Feb

May your soul rest in eternal peace and power, Rev. Jesse Jackson. I had the honor of meeting him my first week in DC, as I started my DOE appointment. He couldn't have been kinder. That moment served as an incredible motivator as I began my journey in government. A giant, in every sense.

aprecruit.ucmerced.eduAssistant Project ScientistUniversity of California, Merced is hiring. Apply now!

10 Feb

Please help us spread the word about this great opportunity for a scholar with a strong publication, and funding record related to climate and environmental research; and excellent written communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills. aprecruit.ucmerced.edu/JPF02050

7 Feb

I just returned from Dakar where I co-chaired the NASEM US-Africa Frontiers in Science, Engineering, & Medicine symposium tinyurl.com/ybdjn22m. It was an extraordinary gathering of leading scholars from across Africa & US discussing timely research. Truly one of the highlights of my career!

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe reposted

New Phytologist

@newphyt.bsky.social

7 Feb

#TansleyReview: #Soil organic matter dynamics under changing #precipitation regimes @aaberhe.com et al. 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue @teamrat.bsky.social

doi.orgSoil Organic Matter Stabilization by Polyvalent Cations in a Buried Alkaline SoilSoil organic matter persistence varies with depth, soil age, and landscape position in Nebraska loess soils Persistence of carbon in buried soil is enhanced by mineral associations, aggregation, ...

1 Feb

New paper on role of polyvalent cations in buried soil C stabilization led by my former lab group members Manisha and Teneille, working with the best collaborators.

Joe Mason@moreorloess.bsky.social

Another new paper on carbon stored in buried soils in Great Plains loess. This one is focused on mechanisms of OM stabilization in buried and modern soils, especially polyvalent cations like Ca++ in the buried Brady Soil, which contains pedogenic carbonates. doi.org/10.1029/2025...

30 Jan

Attending today's California's First Nature Based Solutions Summit, it was so lovely to meet our @ucmerced.bsky.social @snriucmerced.bsky.social alumni who now hold key positions across the state.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe@aaberhe.com

A lot going on in the world these days. It is an incredible privilage to live & work in our state where today CNRA, CARB and CDFA hosted California's First Nature Based Solutions Summit. It was an honor to be invited to speak along with many folx I admire. So much soil love throughout the day 🤎!

30 Jan