Diogo Spinola

Spinola, Dr. Diogo

he/him

PhD (University of Tübingen), MSc (Federal University of Viçosa)

Assistant Professor
Phone
Office
8-332
Campus
Prince George

Biography

I am a field-based soil scientist. I earned my PhD from the University of Tübingen in Germany, where I studied fossil soils and paleo-environments in Antarctica. From 2019 to 2023, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Juneau, Alaska, focusing on the carbon cycle of temperate rain forests.

Research and Expertise

My research explores the interplay between soil geochemistry, mineralogy, and soil organic carbon dynamics, spanning the microscopic to the landscape scale. I am particularly interested in linking pedological and bio-geochemical processes to better understand soil carbon cycling. My current work focuses on the early stages of soil formation in post-glacial landscapes, the impact of climate change on long-term carbon persistence in forested ecosystems, and the effects of wildfires on soil properties.

Research Fields
  • Climate Change
  • Earth Science
  • Environment
  • Soil Science
Areas of Expertise
Soil science, pedology, geoscience, soil biogeochemistry, clay mineralogy, forest soils, soil carbon, micromorphology, paleopedology.
Currently accepting graduate students
Supervises In
MSc NRES Forestry

Selected Publications

Spinola, D., Margerum, A, Zhang, Y., Hesser, R., D’ Amore, D., Portes, R. Rapid soil formation and carbon accumulation along a Little Ice Age soil chronosequence in southeast Alaska. 2024. Catena

Portes, R., Spinola, D., Ketterer, M., Egli, M., Lybrand, R., Fedenko, J., Trainor, T., Dere, A., D`Amore, D. Assessing soil redistribution rates in old-growth temperate rainforests of SE Alaska using 239+240Pu and 13C. 2024. Soil Science Society of America Journal.

Fedenko, J.; D’Amore, D.; Spinola, D.; Portes, R.; Dere, A.; Lybrand, R. A. Spodosol Development and Soil Organic Carbon Distribution along a Lithosequence in Perhumid Coastal Temperate Rainforest. 2024. Soil Science Society of America Journal.

Spinola, D., Portes, R., Fedenko, J., Lybrand, R., Ashlee, D., Biles, F., Trainor, T., Bowden., D`Amore, D. Lithological controls on soil geochemistry and clay mineralogy across Spodosols in the coastal temperate rainforest of southeast Alaska. 2022. Geoderma, 428, 116211.

Krauze, P., Wagner, D., Yang, S., Spinola, D., Kühn, P. Influence of prokaryotic microorganisms on initial soil formation along a glacier forefield on King George Island, maritime Antarctica. 2021. Sci. Rep. 11, 13135.

Dr. Spinola's selected publications on Google Scholar

Curriculum Vitae