Janice Thies

Associate Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Soil and Crop Sciences Section

JANICE THIES is an Associate Professor of Soil Biology in Soil and Crop Sciences and International Professor of Soil Ecology. She is a 2006 American Society for Microbiology Latin America International Professor and has led five international workshops on Soil Molecular Ecology. Dr. Thies was an team member of the Cornell Institute for Social Sciences theme project entitled 'Contentious Knowledge: Science, Social Science and Social Movements', the Cornell Cooperative Extension Soil Health Program Work Team, the S-1022 Technical Regional Project Committee and the W2170 Regional Project. She has served as an expert consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the National Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Iran, the USDA Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants Program, and has served twice on Scientific Advisory Panels for the US-EPA. She is a current associate editor of the Soil Science Society of America Journal and past member of the Editorial Board of Applied and Environmental Microbiology and the CALS Faculty Senate, where she served on the Executive Committee and as both Secretary and acting Chair. Her research program in soil ecology focuses on developing, testing and implementing methods to assess soil biological quality, remediate degraded soils, and improve soil management practices to ensure the long-term sustainability of agricultural ecosystems.

Interests

Soil ecology

Soil biology quality assessment and remediation

International agriculture

Recent Research

Janice Thies's research program in soil ecology focuses on developing, testing and implementing methods to assess soil biological quality, remediate degraded soils, and improve soil management practices to ensure the long-term sustainability of agricultural ecosystems.

Selected Publications

Hurisso, T. T., Moebius-Clune, D. J., Culman, S. W., Moebius-Clune, B. N., Thies, J. E., & van, E. H. (2018). Soil Protein as a Rapid Soil Health Indicator of Potentially Available Organic Nitrogen. Agricultural & Environmental Letters. 3:180006.
Sullivan, T. S., Ramkissoon, S., Garrison, V. H., Thies, J. E., & Ramsubhag, A. (2012). Siderophore production of African dust microorganisms over Trinidad and Tobago. Aerobiologia. 28:391-401.
Xue, K., Serohijos, R. C., Devare, M., Duxbury, J. M., Lauren, J. G., & Thies, J. E. (2012). Short-term Carbon Allocation and Root Lignin of Cry3Bb Bt and NonBt Corn in the Presence of Corn Rootworm. Applied Soil Ecology. 57:16-22.
Xue, K., Serohijos, R. C., Devare, M., & Thies, J. E. (2011). Decomposition rate and microbial communities colonizing residues do not differ between Cry3Bb Bt and NonBt corn hybrids in the field. AEM: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 77:839-846.
Jack, A. L., Rangarajan, A., Culman, S. W., Sooksa-Nguan, T., & Thies, J. E. (2011). Organic amendments to transplant media influence plant growth and rhizosphere bacterial communities. Applied Soil Ecology. 48:94-101.
Sooksa-nguan, T., Gypmantasiri, P., Boonkerd, N., Thies, J. E., & Teaumroong, N. (2010). Changes in Bacterial Community Composition in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Microbes and Environments. 25:224-227.
Lu, H., Wu, W., Chen, Y., Zhang, X., Devare, M., & Thies, J. E. (2010). Decomposition of Bt transgenic rice residues and response of soil microbial community in rapeseed-rice cropping system. Plant and Soil. 336:279-290.

Book Chapters

Thies, J. E., & Rillig, M. (2009). Characteristics of biochar: Biological properties. Biochar for Environmental Management Lehmann, J and Joseph, S (ed.), Earthscan, London, UK.
Tsai, S., O'Neill, B., Cannavan, F., Saito, D., Falcao, N., Kern, D., Grossman, J., & Thies, J. E. (2009). The Microbial World of Terra Preta. Amazonian Dark Earths: Wim Sombroek’s Vision. Woods, WI, Teixiera, WG, Lehmann, J, Steiner, C, Winkler Prins, AMGA, Rebellato, L (ed.), Springer Science and Business Media B.V..
Thies, J. E. (2008). Molecular methods for studying microbial ecology in the soil and rhizosphere. Molecular Mechanisms of Plant and Microbe Coexistence Nautiyal, CS and Dion, P (ed.), Springe-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.

Awards & Honors

Fellow 2016 American Society of Agronomy
Fellow 2016 Soil Science Society of America
Fellow 2008 Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
International Professor of Soil Ecology 2007 Cornell University

Courses Taught

My philosophy of teaching is encompassed in three key concepts. The central concept in my approach to teaching is that students learn best when they are encouraged and expected to take responsibility for their own learning within a guided framework. Alongside this, I believe that students make greater strides in learning when they are fully engaged in the teaching/learning process themselves, rather than being simply a passive audience. Additionally, I believe that integrating current research into teaching is a critical component of the teaching/learning process and is essential to train students in concepts at the cutting edge of the field. These concepts are illustrated in the ‘hand-on’ approach that I take to instruction, particularly in my graduate level course. Lastly, I am strongly committed to continuing my own development as an educator, specifically to continue to integrate new theories of learning into my courses and to make the best use possible of electronic resources for students.

PLSCS 6660: Applied Plant-Microbe Interactions
PLSCS 8900: Master's Level Thesis Research

Contact Information

722 Bradfield Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853

(607) 255-5099

jet25 [at] cornell.edu

Graduate Fields
- Global Development
- International Agriculture and Rural Development
- International Development
- Soil and Crop Sciences
Education
- Doctorate
  University of Hawaii
  1990
- Master of Science
  University of Hawaii
  1986
- Bachelor of Science
  University of Washington
  1976

Janice in the news

Green crops up close with brown dirt at their base

News

January 29, 2020

Lost in translation: Organic matter cuts plant-microbe links

In a symbiotic relationship, microbes called rhizobia act like agricultural “butlers” to fetch nitrogen from the air for the legume plants. When carbon is added to the soil, it helps the soil retain nutrients, but it can repress plant-microbe...

School of Integrative Plant Science
Soil and Crop Sciences Section
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Janice Thies

Contact Information

Graduate Fields

Education

Janice in the news