Dr. Xiaoyuan Geng

Dr. Xiaoyuan Geng is the manager and head scientist of Canadian Soil Information Service (CanSIS), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. With education in the field of soil science and biogeochemistry through BSc. and MSc. years, Xiaoyuan conducted nutrient cycling and ecosystem modeling research and development work. Xiaoyuan contributed to the Boreal Ecosystem and Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) by conducting trace gas emission research across boreal forest, including peatland, landscapes using incubation chamber method. Xiaoyuan taught remote sensing and GIS programming courses in University of Alberta and Algonquin college in Canada. He constructed and piloted core specifications of the early versions of the Web Processing Service (WPS) and Table Joining Service (TJS) international standards of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Xiaoyuan developed key data integration and processing algorithms and produced an essential national framework data, Soil Landscapes of Canada. The framework is used for national sustainable metrics modeling, national environmental statistic reporting, international contribution on carbon accounting and environment assessments etc. Through his Ph. D study, Xiaoyuan developed an operational framework for predictive soil mapping in Canada. That framework is being used for national soil and soil landscape data renewal and applications. Presently Xiaoyuan, as one of Canadian representatives of the Global Soil Partnership, is leading a large collaborative effort on national soil and soil landscape data renewal and integrated use for several national applications such as national soil carbon sequestration potential inventory, sustainability metrics, living laboratory, and national ecological good and services reporting.