Research Soil Scientist, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, USDA-Agricultural Research Service
Dr. Mark Tomer is a Research Soil Scientist with the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment (NLAE) of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Ames Iowa. He has held this position since 2000. His background includes a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana, an M.S. in Soil Physics from Montana State University, and a Ph.D. in Soil and Water Resources from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining ARS, Dr. Tomer gained research and technology transfer experience working on agricultural salinity in eastern Montana, and on municipal wastewater irrigation in forest plantations in New Zealand.
Dr. Tomer is currently the Lead Scientist for watershed research at NLAE, and he has served on ARS’s National Leadership Team for the Croplands Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). His current research is focused on the development of GIS-based watershed planning tools; he has led the development of the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) which is being trialed for use in watershed improvement projects in four states. Dr. Tomer has also conducted studies on agricultural hydrology and water quality, overbank sedimentation, and edge-of-field water monitoring.