Yushu Xia is an assistant research professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a research institute of the Columbia Climate School, where she leads the Soil Systems Lab.
Yushu Xia is an assistant research professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a research institute of the Columbia Climate School, where she leads the Soil Systems Lab. Her research focuses on the assessment and modeling of soil health, with the overarching goal of simultaneously advancing agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability, and ecosystem benefits.
By improving soil health, Xia aims to reduce negative environmental impacts, while also encouraging key positive outcomes such as carbon storage, water retention, and biodiversity. Her work bridges field-based science and advanced modeling—including artificial intelligence and process-based models—to inform more resilient land management strategies that benefit farmers, ranchers, communities and the planet.
Xia came to Columbia in 2024 after completing her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. During her postdoctoral fellowship, she developed a fusion model to estimate carbon dynamics by combining remote sensing with process-based simulations. Now at Columbia, Xia continues building on that foundation by leveraging multiple types of datasets and modeling tools to improve soil management—a critical component of optimizing carbon management. Her research connects empirical field data, lab work, survey inputs, remote sensing and high-performance computing to better understand and inform sustainable land use practices.
Read More at: Columbia Climate School
Yushu Xia collecting cover crop biomass samples in an organic field in Illinois. (PHoto Credit: Michelle Wander)
