Kevin Tate

Kevin Russel Tate (8 April 1943 – 22 January 2018) was a New Zealand soil chemist, ecologist and climate scientist.[1][2][3]

Kevin Tate
Born
Kevin Russel Tate

(1943-04-08)8 April 1943
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Died22 January 2018(2018-01-22) (aged 74)
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Alma materVictoria University of Wellington
Scientific career
FieldsOrganic chemistry
Soil chemistry
Ecology
InstitutionsDepartment of Scientific and Industrial Research
Landcare
Thesis
Doctoral advisorRobert Walker Hay

Early life and family

Born in Lower Hutt on 8 April 1943, Tate was the son of Dudley Tate and Hazel Winifred Tate (née Jackson-Hughes).[4][5] He was educated at Hutt Valley High School from 1956.[6]

Scientific career

Tate studied chemistry at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating BSc in 1964, and MSc the following year.[2] His master's thesis was titled A study of the dealdolisation of diacetone alcohol.[7] Tate then completed a PhD on decarboxylation kinetics and mechanisms under Robert Walker Hay at Victoria,[8] before moving to Soil Bureau, a branch of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) in the Hutt Valley. In 1992, DSIR was dissolved and Soil Bureau became Landcare Research, a Crown Research Institute, and he moved with it to Palmerston North, on the campus of Massey University.

Much of Tate's early research involved the storage and cycling of phosphorus and carbon in soils, particularly in economically important New Zealand grasslands and native forests. Later work focused on carbon cycling and sequestration, particularly as climate change became an issue and the question of how soils and soil biota could impact atmospheric carbon dioxide levels became relevant.

Tate also contributed his soil chemistry knowledge to other research topics at Soil Bureau / Landcare, including sand dune rehabilitation, restoration of pasture after topsoil removal and understanding tussock grasslands. Many papers were coauthored with people including Des J. Ross, C.W. Feltham, Benny K.G. Theng, R.H. Newman, Neal A. Scott, Surinder Saggar, Paul C.D. Newton, Troy Baisden, Aroon Parshotam, David A. Wardle and Gregor W. Yeates.

Retirement in 2005 did not stop Tate working on his science.[1] One of his last works was editing Microbial Biomass, a 2017 volume on soil and ecosystem microbial processes.[9]

Tate died in Palmerston North on 22 January 2018.[4]

Honours and awards

In 1995, Tate was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, the peak science organisation in New Zealand.[10] He was also elected to fellowships of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry and the New Zealand Society of Soil Science.[11]

In 2005, Tate was awarded the Marsden Medal by the New Zealand Association of Scientists for "contribution to, and leadership of, research into ecosystem processes and climate change [spanning] four decades."[12]

Selected works
  • Tate, K.R.; Ross, D.J.; Feltham, C.W. (1988). "A direct extraction method to estimate soil microbial C: effects of experimental variables and some different calibration procedures". Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 20 (3): 329–335. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(88)90013-2.
  • Newman, R.H.; Tate, K.R. (1980). "Soil phosphorus characterisation by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance". Communications in Soil Science & Plant Analysis. 11 (9): 835–842. doi:10.1080/00103628009367083.
  • Jensen, L.S.; Mueller, T.; Tate, K.R.; Ross, D.J.; Magid, J.; Nielsen, N.E. (1996). "Soil surface CO2 flux as an index of soil respiration in situ: a comparison of two chamber methods". Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 28 (10): 1297–1306. doi:10.1016/s0038-0717(96)00136-8.
  • Ross, D.J.; Tate, K.R.; Scott, N.A.; Feltham, C.W. (1999). "Land-use change: effects on soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus pools and fluxes in three adjacent ecosystems". Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 31 (6): 803–813. doi:10.1016/s0038-0717(98)00180-1.

References
  1. Baisden, Troy (June 2005). "Kevin Tate retires". Soil News, the newsletter of the New Zealand Soil Society. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. "Kevin Tate – Staff details". Landcare Research. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. Saggar, Surinder and David Whitehead. "FRSNZ Obituary" (PDF). Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  4. "Kevin Tate death notice". Dominion Post. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. "Births". Evening Post. 9 April 1943. p. 1. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  6. Cooper, Robyn (October 2016). "The class of '56 celebrates HVHS's 90th anniversary" (PDF). Alumni News. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  7. Te Waharoa. "A study of the dealdolisation of diacetone alcohol: submitted for the degree of Master of Science in chemistry". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  8. Te Waharoa. "Kinetic and mechanistic studies of decarboxylation: submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  9. Tate, Kevin R. (2017). Microbial biomass. doi:10.1142/q0038. ISBN 978-1-78634-130-3.
  10. "List of all Fellows with surnames S–U". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  11. "Royal Society of New Zealand Act: election of fellows". New Zealand Gazette. Department of Internal Affairs: 1831. 24 July 1996. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  12. "Marsden Medal". New Zealand Association of Scientists. Retrieved 24 January 2018.


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