Terry Loecke

Applied Biogeochemistry Lab

Understanding how soil, water, and organisms interact to sustain healthy landscapes.

About Us

The Applied Biogeochemistry Lab is part of the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University, led by Dr. Terry Loecke. We study how agricultural land management shapes soil, water, and air quality — investigating how soil, water, and organisms interact to stabilize climate, protect water quality, and sustain healthy food production for generations to come.

Our research spans environmental informatics, biogeochemistry, agroecology, and nature-based climate solutions. We combine field measurements, high-frequency sensor networks, and quantitative data analysis to understand nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas dynamics in managed landscapes — from row-crop fields to restored wetlands.

In the classroom and in the field, we work with undergraduate and graduate students to think critically about how ecosystems function and how we can promote their resilience.

In Press / Recently Published (2026)

Loecke, T.D., S.N. Koenigsberger, B. Sikes, M. VanderPutten, L. Leininger, H. Avocat, S.A. Billings, M.F. Kirk. 2026. Soil anaerobic microsites mediate land use and precipitation effects on soil organic carbon on a regional scale. Science of the Total Environment. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181960

Waterman, B.R., A.T. Hansen, T.D. Loecke, M.F. Kirk. 2026. Corn–soybean expansion nears threshold for adverse nitrogen effects in the Great Plains. Environmental Research Letters. doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae6c39

Keen, R.M., P.L. Sullivan, H. Ajami, D.R. Hirmas, L. Li, A.N. Flores, T. Loecke, K. Jarecke, L. Klamm, M. Unruh, et al. 2026. Quantifying potential nutrient liberation following plant investment in root exudates: variation across soil profiles and ecosystems in the United States. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. doi.org/10.1029/2025JG009380

Duell, E.B., T.D. Loecke, P.M. Hansen, L. Koziol, R.J. Ramos, B.A. Sikes, J.D. Bever, T.P. McKenna. 2025/2026. Functional consequences of land-use history: plant community and soil microbiome mediation of nutrient loss, soil aggregate stability, and soil erosion. Science of the Total Environment. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.181311

Selected Publications (2016–2025)

Sarkar, S., A. Kazarina, P.M. Hansen, K. Ward, C. Hargreaves, N. Reese, Q. Ran, W. Kessler, L.F.T. de Souza, T.D. Loecke, et al. 2025. Metabolism diversification of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria under different precipitation gradients and land legacies. Applied Soil Ecology. doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105831

de Souza, L.F.T., D.R. Hirmas, P.L. Sullivan, D.C. Reuman, M.F. Kirk, L. Li, H. Ajami, H. Wen, M.V.M. Sarto, T.D. Loecke, et al. 2023. Root distributions, precipitation, and soil structure converge to govern soil organic carbon depth distributions. Geoderma. doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116569

Burgin, A.J., T.D. Loecke. 2023. The biogeochemical redox paradox: how can we make a foundational concept more predictive of biogeochemical state changes? Biogeochemistry. doi.org/10.1007/s10533-023-01036-9

Yang, Y., T.D. Loecke*, J. Knops. 2022. Surface soil organic carbon sequestration under post agricultural grasslands offset by net loss at depth. Biogeochemistry. doi.org/10.1007/s10533-022-00929-5

Dea, H.I., A. Urban, A. Kazarina, G. Houseman, S.G. Thomas, T. Loecke, M.J. Greer, T.G. Platt, S. Lee, A. Jumpponen. 2022. Precipitation, not land use, primarily determines the composition of both plant and phyllosphere fungal communities. Frontiers in Fungal Biology. doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2022.805225

McGill, B.M., M.J. Foster, A.N. Pruitt, S.G. Thomas, E.R. Arsenault, J. Hanschu, K. Wahwahsuak, E. Cortez, K. Zarek, T.D. Loecke, A.J. Burgin. 2021. You are welcome here: a practical guide to diversity, equity, and inclusion for undergraduates embarking on an ecological research experience. Ecology and Evolution. doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7321

Ghosh, S., L.W. Sheppard, M.T. Holder, T.D. Loecke, P.C. Reid, J.D. Bever, D.C. Reuman. 2020. Copulas and their potential for ecology. In Advances in Ecological Research, vol. 62. Academic Press.

Silvey, C., K.M. Jarecke, K. Hopfensperger, T.D. Loecke, A.J. Burgin. 2019. Plant species and hydrology as controls on constructed wetland methane fluxes. Soil Science Society of America Journal. doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2018.11.0421

Schoepfer, V.A., A.J. Burgin, T.D. Loecke, A.M. Helton. 2019. Seasonal salinization decreases spatial heterogeneity of sulfate reducing activity. Soil Systems. doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3020025

Smyth, A.R., T.D. Loecke, T. Franz, A.J. Burgin. 2018. Using high-frequency soil oxygen sensors to predict greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.10.020

Kritee, K., D. Nair, D. Zavala-Araiza, J. Proville, J. Rudek, T.K. Adhya, T.D. Loecke, et al. 2018. High nitrous oxide fluxes from rice indicate the need to manage water for both long- and short-term climate impacts. PNAS. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809276115

McMillan, S., H.F. Wilson, C.L. Tague, D.M. Hanes, S. Inamdar, D.L. Karwan, T.D. Loecke, et al. 2018. Before the storm: antecedent conditions as regulators of hydrologic and biogeochemical response to extreme climate events. Biogeochemistry. doi.org/10.1007/s10533-018-0482-6

Franz, T.E., T.D. Loecke, A.J. Burgin, Y. Zhou, T. Le, D. Moscicki. 2017. Improved monitoring strategies for understanding greenhouse gas emissions from variable saturated landscapes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. doi.org/10.1002/2017JG003837

Loecke, T.D.*, A.J. Burgin, C.A. Davis, A.S. Ward, S.A. Thomas, D.A. Riveros-Iregui, M. St. Clair. 2017. Weather whiplash in agricultural landscapes creates unforeseen implications for water quality. Biogeochemistry. doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0315-z

Segal, L., D. Miller, R. McGhee, T. Loecke, K. Cook, C. Shapiro, R. Drijber. 2017. Bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidizers respond differently to long-term tillage and fertilizer management at a continuous maize site. Soil & Tillage Research 168:110–117.

Wijewardane, N.K., Y. Ge, S. Wills, T.D. Loecke. 2016. Prediction of soil carbon in the conterminous US: VNIR analysis of the Rapid Carbon Assessment Project. Soil Science Society of America Journal. doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.02.0052

Reynolds, K.N., T.D. Loecke*, A.J. Burgin, C.A. Davis, D. Riveros-Iregui, S.A. Thomas, M.A. St. Clair, A.S. Ward. 2016. Optimizing sampling strategies for riverine nitrate using high-frequency data in agricultural watersheds. Environmental Science & Technology. doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05423

Jarecke, K.M., T.D. Loecke*, A.J. Burgin. 2016. Coupled soil oxygen and greenhouse gas dynamics under variable hydrology. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 95:164–172.

Earlier Publications (2004–2015)

Kritee, K., R. Tiwari, T. Adhya, T. Loecke, J. Rudek, D. Nair, R. Ahuja, S. Hamburg, S. Shekhar, K. Ram, S. Reddy, D. Anandraj. 2015. Sampling guidelines and analytical optimization for direct greenhouse gas emissions from tropical rice and upland cropping systems. Carbon Management 6(3–4):169–184.

Kritee, K., D. Nair, R. Tiwari, S. Reddy, O. Dava, F. Teraert, T.Y. Reddy, T. Adhya, T. Loecke, J. Rudek, R. Ahuja, S. Hamburg. 2015. Groundnut cultivation in semi-arid peninsular India for yield scaled nitrous oxide emission reduction. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 103(1):115–129.

Davis, C.A., A.S. Ward, A.J. Burgin, T.D. Loecke, D. Riveros-Iregui, D. Schnoebelen, C. Just, S. Thomas, L. Weber, M. St. Clair. 2014. Antecedent moisture controls on stream nitrate flux in an agricultural watershed, Clear Creek, Iowa. Journal of Environmental Quality 43(3):1494–1503.

Grunwald, S., B. Cao, X. Xiong, C.W. Ross, R. Patarasuk, J. Hempel, L.T. West, S.S. Andrews, S. Wills, T.D. Loecke. 2014. Integration of data to work towards a meta soil carbon model in the U.S. Proceedings of the Global Soil Map Conference, Orléans, France.

Wills, S., T.D. Loecke, C. Sequeira, G. Teachman, S. Grunwald, L.T. West. 2013. Overview of the U.S. Rapid Carbon Assessment Project: sampling design, initial summary and uncertainty estimates. In Progress in Soil Science: Soil Carbon (eds. Hartemink & McBratney). Springer.

Loecke, T.D., C.A. Cambardella, M. Liebman. 2012. Synchrony of net nitrogen mineralization and maize nitrogen uptake following applications of composted and fresh swine manure in the Midwest U.S. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 93:65–74.

Loecke, T.D. 2012. The influence of heterogeneity on soil microbial processes in agroecosystems: theory, evidence, and opportunities. In Microbial Ecology in Sustainable Agroecosystems (eds. Cheeke, Coleman, Wall). CRC Press.

Grandy, A.S., C. Kallenbach, T.D. Loecke, S.S. Snapp. 2012. The biological basis for N mineralization-immobilization dynamics and their management in agroecosystems. In Microbial Ecology in Sustainable Agroecosystems. CRC Press.

Groffman, P.M., D. Osmond, N. Nadkarni, C. Driscoll, E. Andrews, A. Gold, S. Allred, A. Berkowitz, M. Klemens, T. Loecke, M.A. McGarry, K. Schwarz, M. Washington. 2010. The role of interface organizations in science communication and understanding. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 8:306–313.

Ball, B.A., J.S. Kominoski, H.E. Adams, S.E. Jones, E.S. Kane, T.D. Loecke, W.M. Mahaney, J.P. Martina, C.M. Prather, T.M.P. Robinson, C.T. Solomon. 2010. Putting the pieces together: global environmental changes and terrestrial-aquatic linkages. BioScience 60:590–601.

Loecke, T.D., G.P. Robertson. 2009. Soil heterogeneity in the form of aggregated litter alters maize productivity. Plant and Soil 325:231–241.

Loecke, T.D., G.P. Robertson. 2009. Soil resource heterogeneity in terms of litter aggregation promotes nitrous oxide fluxes and slows decomposition. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 41:228–235.

Grandy, A.S., T.D. Loecke, S. Parr, G.P. Robertson. 2006. Long-term trends in nitrous oxide emissions, soil nitrogen, and crop yields of till and no-till cropping systems. Journal of Environmental Quality 35:1487–1495.

Sadaka, S.S., T.L. Richard, T.D. Loecke, M. Liebman. 2006. Determination of compost respiration rates using pressure sensors. Compost Science & Utilization 14:124–131.

Loecke, T.D., M. Liebman, C.A. Cambardella, T.L. Richard. 2004. Corn growth responses to composted and fresh solid swine manure. Crop Science 44:177–184.

Loecke, T.D., M. Liebman, C.A. Cambardella, T.L. Richard. 2004. Composting and timing of application affect corn yield response to solid swine manure. Agronomy Journal 96:214–223.