I am a soil scientist. I was born and raised in Eritrea, in East Africa. Eritrea is located along the coast of the Red Sea where mother nature is at its dazzling best, gracing the country with incredible natural ecosystems.
 
In my research, I study the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nitrogen in the Earth system. I study how organic matter (remains of formerly living things) is stored in soil, in associations with soil minerals. I am often busy studying how the soil system controls the Earth’s climate by regulating the relative amount of organic matter that is stored in soil for up to millennia vs. decomposed and released back to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, that warm our planet. 

 
I worry about the impact of human activities on soils that we depend on for our food and nutritional security. I study the social and political causes and impacts of land degradation, including how armed conflicts, and specifically landmines, continue to degrade land for decades after the drums of war have been silenced, and long after opposing militaries have agreed to a ceasefire.
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I am Asmeret Asefaw Berhe and I am a soil scientist and educator who is passionate about all things related to the science and beauty of soils.