Category: Graduate Students
Ecosystem ecologist Andrew Hill earns graduate fellowship
June 15, 2023 Written by Dante LaPenta | Photo Courtesy of Andrew Hill
Recent University of Delaware graduate Andrew Hill earned the Donald L. and Joy G. Sparks Graduate Fellowship in Soil Science. The now Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences alumnus, who completed his degree this spring, was pleasantly surprised to even be nominated.
“Receiving this recognition was a really nice way to wrap up my time at the University of Delaware,” said Hill.
“Andrew is an exemplary scientist who is eager to learn how nature works,” added Rodrigo Vargas, professor of ecosystem ecology and environmental change and Hill’s Ph.D. advisor.
At the onset of his UD Ph.D. program, Hill’s interest in the impact of human activities on the environment led him to a collaborative project with the U.S. Forest Service, now published in the journal Biogeochemistry. The team found that lawns in urban areas can emit more carbon dioxide than that emitted from forest floors, suggesting that urban lawns may be an important source of carbon to the atmosphere.
Recent University of Delaware graduate Andrew Hill earned the Donald L. and Joy G. Sparks Graduate Fellowship in Soil Science. The now Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences alumnus, who completed his degree this spring, was pleasantly surprised to even be nominated.
“Receiving this recognition was a really nice way to wrap up my time at the University of Delaware,” said Hill.
“Andrew is an exemplary scientist who is eager to learn how nature works,” added Rodrigo Vargas, professor of ecosystem ecology and environmental change and Hill’s Ph.D. advisor.
At the onset of his UD Ph.D. program, Hill’s interest in the impact of human activities on the environment led him to a collaborative project with the U.S. Forest Service, now published in the journal Biogeochemistry. The team found that lawns in urban areas can emit more carbon dioxide than that emitted from forest floors, suggesting that urban lawns may be an important source of carbon to the atmosphere.
Hill then focused on an extremely important natural system — salt marshes. Coastal ecosystems such as salt marshes sit in areas where land and coastal oceans meet. Despite small representation around the world, this ecosystem punches way above its weight in storing large amounts of carbon. Hill zeroed in on the St. Jones Reserve southwest of Dover, Delaware, which is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. A primary measurement technique was eddy covariance to study how ecosystems “breathe” and measures the exchange of carbon dioxide and methane — gases directly linked to climate change — between land and the atmosphere.
“Eddy covariance gives us key insights into ecosystems and monitoring environmental change,” explained Hill.
Hill remained focused on salt marshes for his dissertation. He investigated how to measure vegetation properties using different remote-sensing approaches, and tested how different techniques compared to study how salt marshes “breathe”. While much of the academic literature considers salt marshes an insignificant source of methane, the UD team found significant methane levels in the Delaware marsh.
As an ecologist, Hill sees the big picture of ecosystems and how small processes impact the entire planet. Hill points to the importance of long-term measurement collection to see the full picture of climate change.
Originally from Minnesota, Hill studied biology at Minnesota State University Mankato, specializing in plant science. He remained in Mankato to pursue a master’s in geography and climatology. While also running his own hobby farm, Hill investigated soybean and corn agriculture land use and how its impact on climate.
“I found that I really enjoyed research — the independence and free-thinking,” underscored Hill.
In 2018, his research prowess landed him at the University of Delaware and the lab of Rodrigo Vargas.
“I really clicked with the people at UD,” emphasized Hill. “I liked the diversity and how much that contributed to lab discussions and hearing different perspectives.”
When he arrived in the First State, the entire Hill family also came along for the journey.
“It was an invaluable experience to give our son and daughter a life experience in a different part of the country,” said Hill.
Following the completion of the Ph.D. program, Hill headed back to Minnesota to work as an ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service. Aligning with Hill’s petition for longitudinal data, he works in the Marcell Experimental Forest, where scientists have collected data since 1959. His position brings together both his field research and data collection interests. Hill is right at home both in a bog in the middle of the forest at the eddy covariance tower and in his office analyzing data and writing research papers.
About the Fellowship
The Donald L. and Joy G. Sparks Fellowship in Soil Science was established in 2000 by Donald L. Sparks and Joy Gooden Sparks ’73 and supports graduate students in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences who are performing soil science research associated with the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN). Don Sparks has been a member of the UD faculty for more than 35 years and is the Unidel S. Hallock du Pont Chair in Soil and Environmental Chemistry and Francis Alison Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. The late Mrs. Sparks was the Delaware state 4-H coordinator for UD Cooperative Extension and was instrumental in building Delaware 4-H into a nationally recognized program.