Mark Tomer

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. Mark’s background includes a BS in Forestry from Montana, an MS in Soil Physics from Montana State, and a PhD in Soil and Water Resources from the University of Minnesota. His past experiences include investigations of agricultural salinity in eastern Montana, and research on municipal wastewater irrigation in New Zealand. Dr. Tomer is currently the Lead Scientist for watershed research at NLAE and is on ARS’s National Leadership Team for the Croplands Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). His current research is focused on assessment of hydrology and water quality in agricultural watersheds, and understanding how such assessments can provide guidance for improving conservation effectiveness at the watershed scale. He is also interested in developing tools for site-specific planning of conservation practices, and has recently conducted an investigation of historical overbank sedimentation in central Iowa.