Erika Foster, phD

Erika researches land management impact on soil health and soil carbon sequestration on farms and ranches in the US and abroad. She earned her PhD in Ecology in the Dept of Soil and Crop Sciences from Colorado State University. Her work focused on the impact of organic amendments, such as biochar and superabsorbent polymers, on soil health properties, such as microbial cycling of nutrients, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas fluxes. Her recent experiments focused on rapid field assessment of soil health and carbon dynamics with spectroscopic techniques. Erika contributed to the development of a citizen-scientist field Soil Health Test Kit and now facilitates protocol design for monitoring rangeland carbon sequestration and other environmental co-benefits. She remains passionate about land stewardship and facilitating manager participation in science and monitoring.