BGU Leading Greenhouse Gas Research from the Negev
BGU Leading Greenhouse Gas Research from the Negev
February 6, 2026
Desert & Water Research, Sustainability & Climate Change
Prof. Ilya Gelfand (Photo Credit: Wolfgang Motzafi-Haller, TerraVision Lab Ltd)
The Jerusalem Post—At Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), Prof. Ilya Gelfand, a researcher at The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research and the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, is filling critical gaps in environmental and climate science. As highlighted by The Jerusalem Post, vast regions such as the Middle East are still represented in global climate models by assumptions rather than direct measurements. “Those colors are mostly assumptions,” Prof. Gelfand observed, referring to global emissions maps that lack real data from desert regions. His research focuses on trace gases such as nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxides, and methane—powerful greenhouse gases that are far less studied than carbon dioxide, particularly in arid environments.
Prof. Gelfand’s path to climate science was unconventional, shaped by early work in environmental science, microbiology, and aquaculture before turning toward the global nitrogen cycle. “Most of the nitrogen cycle is microbial, and humans interfere with it massively,” he explained. His doctoral research at the Yatir Forest on the edge of the Negev marked one of Israel’s first comprehensive efforts to study nitrogen dynamics in a natural ecosystem. Prof. Gelfand later deepened this work through advanced soil-gas measurement techniques, allowing him to track greenhouse gas emissions directly rather than relying on modeled estimates.
Since joining the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at BGU, Gelfand has led field-based studies that challenge long-held assumptions in climate modeling. Using laser-based instruments that measure gases in real time, his lab has detected unexpected methane emissions from dry desert soils—conditions previously believed to absorb methane. “Dry soil equals methane uptake—that’s what all the models say,” Prof. Gelfand remarked, underscoring why deserts may be systematically misrepresented in global climate calculations.
Beyond basic science, Prof. Gelfand’s work has significant implications for agriculture and environmental policy. His large-scale research on date palm cultivation revealed that Israeli farms can maintain high yields while using less than half the nitrogen fertilizer currently applied. “Only research that measures real emissions can tell us what’s actually happening,” he said. By producing ground-truth data from one of the world’s least-studied environments, Prof. Gelfand’s work at BGU is helping reshape how scientists understand deserts—not as empty spaces, but as critical components of the global climate system.
Read more on The Jerusalem Post>
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