Richard Smith

Information About:

Mailing Address:

Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences 116 ASI Building University Park, PA 16802-3504
Phone: +1-814-865-6541 Fax: +1-814-863-7043 David Sylvia, Department Head

Contact Information:

419 Agricultual Sciences and Industries Building
University Park, PA 16802

Phone: +1-814-863-4309
Fax: +1-814-863-7043
E-mail: rgs14@psu.edu

Links:

Richard Smith
Post-Doctoral Scholar

Research Interests

I am an agroecologist. My interests involve the interface between ecology and agriculture and include: 1) weed ecology and management, 2) the role of diversity in agroecosystem function, 3) community assembly theory, 4) plant invasions, and 5) trophic interactions. The overall goal of my research is to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture

Current Projects

Weed ecology and management during the organic transition period.
Weed Management, Environmental Quality and Profitability in Organic Feed and Forage Production Systems

Education

Ph.D., Plant Biology & Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior, Michigan State University, 2005
B.S., Biology Department, University of New Mexico, 1996

Professional Experience

Post-doctoral Research Associate, The Pennsylvania State University, 2008-present
Vice-Chair, Agroecology Section, Ecological Society of America, 2008-present
Associate Editor, Agronomy Journal, 2007-present
Research Ecologist, USDA-ARS-EIW, Albany, CA, 2006-2008
Post-doctoral Research Associate, Montana State University, 2005-2006
Graduate Research Assistant, Michigan State University, 1999-2005
Volunteer, US Peace Corps, Papua New Guinea, 1997-1999
Research Assistant, University of New Mexico, 1995-1996

Publications

Smith, R.G., K.L. Gross, and G.P. Robertson. 2008. Effects of crop diversity on agroecosystem function: crop yield response. Ecosystems 11: 355-366.
Smith, R.G., C.P. McSwiney, A.S. Grandy, P. Suwanwaree, R.M. Snider, and G.P. Robertson. 2008. Diversity and abundance of earthworms across an agricultural land-use intensity gradient. Soil & Tillage Research 100: 83-88.
Smith, R.G., F.D. Menalled, and G.P. Robertson. 2007. Temporal yield variability under conventional and alternative management systems. Agronomy Journal 99: 1629-1634.
Maxwell, B.D., R.G. Smith, and M. Brelsford. 2007. Wild oat (Avena fatua) seed bank dynamics in transition to organic wheat production systems. Weed Science 55: 212-217.
Smith, R.G. and K.L. Gross. 2007. Assembly of weed communities along a crop diversity gradient. Journal of Applied Ecology 44: 1046-1056.
Menalled, F.D. and R.G. Smith. 2007. Competitiveness of herbicide resistant and susceptible kochia (Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad.) under contrasting management practices. Weed Biology and Management 7: 115-119.
Menalled, F.D., R.G. Smith, J.T. Dauer, and T.B. Fox. 2007. Impact of agricultural management on carabid communities and weed seed predation. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment 118: 49-54.
Smith, R.G. and K.L. Gross. 2006. Rapid change in the germinable fraction of the weed seed bank in crop rotations. Weed Science 54: 1094-1100.
Smith, R.G., B.D. Maxwell, F.D. Menalled, and L.J. Rew. 2006. Lessons from agriculture may improve the management of invasive plants in wildland systems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4: 428-434.
Smith, R.G. 2006. Timing of tillage is an important filter on the assembly of weed communities. Weed Science 54: 705-712.
Smith, R.G. and K.L. Gross. 2006. Weed community and corn yield variability in diverse management systems. Weed Science 54: 106-113.
Smith, R.G., K.L. Gross, and S. Januchowski. 2005. Earthworms and weed seed distribution in annual crops. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 108: 363-367.

CROP AND SOIL SCIENCES