SHIMADA Hiroaki Assistant Professor

My DreamTo find key factors of enhancement of crop production based on pedology.
Field Soil Science, Pedology
Keyword Soil, Soil profile, Soil fertilizer

Introduction

Pedology focuses on the soil genesis and soil developing process. It is essential to think about the soil properties, which result from soil genesis, for enhancing crop production. The major way of a soil survey is soil profile observation. We usually prepare a 1 m depth soil pit and observe its profile (Fig. 1). We took soil samples for each horizon, which was determined by the soil profile description. Those samples are used for lab analysis to explore more properties of soils.
The properties of soils are very complex since the soil contains many kinds of organic and inorganic components. To untangle this complex system step by step, I focused on the soil aggregates in my research (Fig. 2). Specifically, I focused on the spatial distribution of the organic and organic components of soils on milli- to micron-meter scales. This approach is effective in revealing the mechanisms of organic matter fixation.
Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine is surrounded by plenty of agricultural lands, which means that we have many things to be done in macro-scale research. In the future, I will try to conduct research to connect the knowledge from micron-scale research and agriculture in the field.

The soil profile of an Andisol.
The macro aggregate of the Andisols.

List of current research topics

  • The effect of a land management change on the soil properties
  • Development of effective fertilizing management based on soil profile observation
Self introduction

I am from Kanagawa prefecture. I was intersted in the Agricultural science and decided to enter the University. Then I noticed the soils are very interesting. I hope my work focusing on soil genesis and properties would contribute to the agriculture especially crop production.

Room addressGeneral Research Building II
Room number202
Mail address hiroaki atmark obihiro.ac.jp

Belongs

Research Center for Global Agromedicine/Department of Agriculture and Animal ScienceResearch Department/Department of Agro-environmental Science/Division of Plant Production Science/Section of Plant Production Science
Related industries Agriculture, Fertilizer
Affiliated academic society Japanese Society of Pedology, Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
Academic background 2016 University of Tsukuba, College of Agro-Biological Resource Science of the School of Life and Environmental Sciences
2018 University of Tsukuba, Agro-Bioresources Science and Technology of the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences
2021 University of Tsukuba, Agro-Bioresources Science and Technology of the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences (incomplete)
2021-2023 Researcher, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
2022 University of Tsukuba, Agro-Bioresources Science and Technology of the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Doctoral Degree by dissertation)
2023- Current