Faculty
Donald L. Johnson
- Emeritus Professor of Geography
- Ph.D. 1972, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
- B.A. 1965, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
- A.A. 1963, L.A. Valley College, Van Nuys, CA
- Research interests:
- Soil Geomorphology, Soil Genesis, Geomorphology,
- Paleopedology, Geoarchaeology,
- Soil Stratigraphy, Coastal Geomorphology,
- Zoogeography, Philosophy of Science.
- Office: 316 Davenport Hall
- Phone: 217-333-0589 work, 217-356-7437 home
- Fax: 217-244-1785 work, 217-355-6734 home
- E-mail: dljohns@uiuc.edu
- Postal Address: Department of Geography, 220 Davenport Hall,
- 607 S. Mathews, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 USA
Donald Johnson is involved in various collaborative process and theoretical studies in soil geomorphology, tectonic geomorphology, pedology, geoarchaeology, and Quaternary zoogeography. Research areas include, or have included, many places in the United States, the Caribbean (Jamaica, Bonaire, Curacao), Central and South America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador-Galapagos, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil), Australia (N.S.W., Northern Territories, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, A.C.T.), and Africa (Egypt-Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, South Africa). Long term research is on soil geomorphologic theory, especially applications of dynamic denudation-biomantle theory, and on soil geomorphologic problems of select areas in California, including the offshore Channel Islands, and select areas of Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. A principal research focus is on the role of biota in soil and landform evolution. Key interests are: biodynamic evolution of tropical-subtropical-middle-high latitude landscapes: soils that contain stone-lines (and what stone-lines mean genetically); philosophy of science; and Mima mounds as locally thickened, point-centered biomantles -- and how their formation (on level or low slope ground) automatically promotes the co-formation of associated vernal pools.
Drawing on these research endeavors, Johnson and co-workers are formulating, and have formulated, new concepts, principals, general truths, models, and paradigms in pedology, geomorphology, and geoarchaeology. Chief among these formulations is the dynamic denudation framework, anchored by biomantle theory. Such theoretical perspectives are, we believe, providing new, different, and realistic insights to understanding the evolution of landscapes and their epidermal soils.
Courses Formerly Taught (some still occasionally)
- Geography 103: Earth Physical Systems
- Geography 273: Spring Field Course
- Geography 290/495: Seminar in Physical Geography
- Geography 304: Soil Geomorphology
- Geography 305: Zoogeography
Awards, Citations, Honors
- 2005 Melvin Marcus Award for Distinguished Career (Assoc. Am. Geogs.)
- 1993 MacArthur Foundation 3-year Collaborative Award for Research in Burkino Faso, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, and Mozambique
- 1993 Rip Rapp Archaeological Geology Award for Excellence in Geoarchaeology
- 1990 G.K. Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphic Research (Assoc. Am. Geogs.)
- 1989 Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Texas, Austin TX
- 1985 University Fellow, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- 1982 Elected Fellow, Geological Society of America
Animation on Dynamic Denudation/Biomantle Evolution
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jdomier/www/temp/biomantle.swf
Recent Publications, Reports, Abstracts
2007
Johnson, D.L., D.N. Johnson, and J.E.J. Domier, 2007. A biodynamic and global view of soil. Progress in Physical Geography (submitted).
Finney, F.A. and D.L. Johnson. 2007. What did Theodore H. Lewis see at Harper’s Ferry, Iowa? (submitted).
Johnson, D.L., D.N. Johnson, D.W. Benn, and E.A. Bettis III. 2007. Deciphering complex soil/site formation in sands. Geomorphology Spec. Issue, Geoarchaeology, (N. Dunning, ed.), pp. x-y. (Accepted for publication.)
Johnson, D.L. and D.N. Johnson. 2007. The global biomantle: Theory, exposition, analyses. Abstracts, Assoc. Am. Geogs. Annual Meetings, April 17-21, San Francisco, CA, p. x.
Johnson, D.L., A.J. Stumpf, and D.N. Johnson. 2007. Loess- and caliche-bearing biomantles and cold-dry dessication wedges in Tehuelche gravels, Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia. Geol. Soc. Amer. Abstracts with Programs v. 39, no. 3, p. x.
Johnson, D.L. and D.N. Johnson. 2007. The planetary soil and its epidermal biomantle. Abstracts, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Annual Meetings, “Water rocks,” Feb. 4-9, Santa Fe, NM, p. 88.
Horwath, J.L. and D.L. Johnson. 2007. Erratum to “Mima-type mounds in southwest Missouri: Expressions of point-centered and locally thickened biomantles” [Geomorphology 77 (2006) 308-319]. Geomorphology 83 (2007): 193-194.
2006
Horwath, J.L. and D.L. Johnson. 2006. Mima-type mounds in southwest Missouri: Expressions of point-centered and locally thickened biomantles. Geomorphology 77; 308-319.
Johnson, D.L. and H. Lin. 2006. The biomantle-critical zone model. Abstracts, American Geophysical Union National Meetings, Dec. 11-15, San Francisco, CA, p. x.
Johnson, D.L. and D.N. Johnson. 2006. Why have pedogenic stonelayers (stone-lines, nappes de gravats, etc.) been interpreted as geogenic by so many geologists, pedologists, and others? Abstracts, Soil Science Society of America National Meetings, Indianapolis, IN, Nov. 12-16, 2006, p. x.
Johnson, D.L., and F. Finney. 2006. Natural prairie (Mima) mounds of the Upper Midwest: Their abundance, distribution, origin, and archaeological implications. Midwestern Archaeological Conference, Oct. 12-15, 2006, Urbana, IL, Abstracts, p. x.
Johnson, D.L. and D.N. Johnson. 2006. Healing the wounds of Occam’s Razor: A process-biodynamic way forward in pedology and soil-geomorphology. Abstracts, Assoc. Am. Geogs. Annual Meetings, March 9-12, Chicago, IL, p. x.
Johnson, D.L. and D.N. Johnson. 2006. Reading the walls of the unfinished cathedral: Interpreting Bermudan eolianites and soils through a biomantle prism. Poster, World Congress of Soil Science, July 9-15, 2006, Philadelphia, PA.
Johnson, D.L., D.N. Johnson, J.L. Horwath, H. Wang, K.C. Hackley, and R.A. Cahill. 2006. Mima mounds as upper soil biomantles: What happens when the dominant bioturbators leave and invertebrates take over? Poster, World Congress of Soil Science, July 9-15, 2006, Philadelphia, PA.
Johnson, D.L., L.R. Follmer, and J. Tandarich. 2006. Is pedology, the historically maligned sibling of soil science, alive and well? You bet, and so is paleopedology! Poster, World Congress of Soil Science, July 9-15, 2006, Philadelphia, PA.
2005
Johnson, D.L. and D.N. Johnson. 2005. Pre-cultivation Mima-type mounds in North America and Eurasia: Templates for mound-builders and khourgan-builders. Geol. Soc. Amer. Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, no. 7, p. 155, Oct. 2005.
Johnson, D.L., D.N. Johnson, and J.L. Horwath. 2005. The genetic link between small fossorial vertebrates, two-layered biomantles, and Mima mounds in the Puget Sound Lowlands. Abstracts, Assoc. Am. Geogs. Annual Meetings, April 3-9, Denver, CO, p. 235.
Johnson, D.L., C.L. Balek, and R.J. Schaetzl. 2005. Stonelayers (stone-lines): A priori assumed to be basal parts of biomantles. Geol. Soc. Amer. Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, no. 5, p. 77.
Johnson, D.L., J.E.J. Domier, and D.N. Johnson, 2004. Animating the biodynamics of soil thickness using process vector analysis: a dynamic denudation approach to soil formation. Geomorphology, v. 67, nos. 1-4, pp. 23-46.
Johnson, D.L., J.P. Tandarich, and L.R. Follmer. 2005. Response to “Comments on ‘Historical Development of Soil and Weathering Profile Concepts from Europe to the United States of America’”. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., v. 69, pp. 572-574.
Johnson, D.L., J.E.J. Domier, and D.N. Johnson, 2005. Reflections on the nature of soil and its biomantle. Annals, Assoc. Amer. Geogs. v. 95, no.1, pp. 11-31.
2004
Robertson, K.M. and D.L. Johnson. 2004. Vertical redistribution of pebbles by crayfish in Mollisol catenas of central Illinois. Soil Science, v. 169, no. 11, pp. 776-786.
Johnson, D.L., J.E.J. Domier, and D.N. Johnson, 2004. The biodynamic and global biomantle. Ichnia 2004 Abstracts, 1st International Congress of Ichnology, Trelew, Patagonia, Argentina, 2004, p. x.
Johnson, D.L. and D.N. Johnson, 2004. Bioturbation by badgers and rodents in producing polygenetic and polytemporal desert biomantles: Soil formation or soil evolution? Geol. Soc. Amer. Abstracts with Programs v. 36, no. 5, p. 97.
Johnson, D.L. and D.H. Yaalon. 2004. Darwin the pedological innovator: A 167 year legacy, 1837-2004. Abstracts, Soc. Am. Agron., Seattle, Oct. 31-Nov. 4, p x.