Personal Chair
- About
-
- Email Address
- jo.smith@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
Room G45
23 St Machar Drive- School/Department
- School of Biological Sciences
Biography
Educational Background and Qualifications
Institution Period Attended Qualification Year Obtained University College London 1983 - 1986 BSc (Hons) Chemistry 1986 University of Reading 1987 - 1991 PhD, Acidic dissolution of clay minerals 1991 Employment History
Post/Grade Employer Period of Employment Main Duties Senior Lecturer to Professor University of Aberdeen 2001 - present Systems modelling; soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics Band 5 - Senior Research Scientist IACR Rothamsted 1998 - 2000 Simulation of soil organic matter and nitrogen dynamics Band 6 - Postdoctoral research scientist IACR Rothamsted 1991 - 1997 Simulation of soil organic matter and nitrogen dynamics Research Scientist British Petroleum 1990 - 1991 Computer simulation of zeolite materials Research Assistant University of Birmingham 1986 - 1987 Extraction and Characterisation of Humic Substances from Ancient Graves at Sutton Hoo External Memberships
- Associate Editor - Journal Environmental Quality
- Research
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Research Overview
- Systems modelling
- Soil organic matter and nutrient modelling
- Decision support
- Nitrogen fertilizer recommendation
- Carbon sequestration
- Greenhouse gas emissions
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Agricultural Sciences
- Environmental Management
- International Agriculture
- Mathematical Modelling
- Soil Science
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
Systems modelling: Impact of use of organic wastes on resource flows in farming households (carbon, nitrogen, water, energy, labour, finances)
Modelling soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics in:
- Highly organic soils (Scotland, Africa and South Asia)
- Tropical and nutrient depleted soils (Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia)
- High nutrient input soils (China and India)
Past Research
Projects completed in
- estimation of carbon payback time associated with wind farm developments
- anaerobic digestion
- use of organic resources to improve soils
- poverty alleviation in households in Sub-Saharan Africa
Knowledge Exchange
- The Scottish Government Wind farm Carbon Calculator (now used in planning for wind farm developments)
- Installation of demonstration biogas digesters in villages in Uganda and Ethiopia.
- Determination of options for use of organic resources for poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa (technical document and policy brief)
- Engagement with villagers in South Asia on reducing waste of nitrogen in farming systems.
Collaborations
UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology - Mark Sutton (nitrogen use efficiency), Ute Skibe (measurement of greenhouse gas emissions), Julia Drewer (greenhouse gas emissions).
- James Hutton Insitute - Lisa Avery (Bioslurry and pathogens); Jagadeesh Yeluripati (Zero Budget Natural Farming)
- Rothamsted Research - Tom Misselbrook (N use in livestock systems).
- University of Edinburgh - Jon Hillier (Cool Farm Tool); Alfie Gathorne-Hardy (Biodiversity and nitrogen use).
- Scottish Rural College - Bob Rees (Field trials on nitrogen use efficiency).
- Moredun Institute - Phillip Skuce (Health impacts of organic resource use)
AFGHANISTAN Kabul University - Safi Zikrullah (Nitrogen use in villages in Afghanistan)
BANGLADESH
- Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University - Md. Mizanur Rahman (N use in villages in Bangladesh)
- University of Rajshahi - Md Toufiq Iqbal (N use in villages in Bangladesh)
- Bangladesh Rice Research Institute - Umme Aminun Naher (N use in villages in Bangladesh)
CAMEROON
- Catholic University Cameroon - Kenneth Yongabi (Anaerobic digestion for poverty alleviation)
CHINA
- Nanjing Agricultural University - Genxing Pan (Use of crops residues to produce biochar)
ETHIOPIA
- Addis Ababa University - Assefa Abegaz (Household energy and recycling of nutrients)
- Hawassa University - Tewodros Tefera (Social impacts of organic resource use)
- Southern Agricultural Research Institute – Getahun Yakob (Measurement of changes in soil properties with management of organic resources)
- International Water Management Institute – Wolde Bori (Changes in ecosystem services in exclosure areas)
INDIA
- Indian Agricultural Research Institute - Sanjoy Bandyopadhyay (Nitrogen use in villages in Haryana); Rabindra Nath Pradaria (Socio-economic survey of villages); Arti Bhatia (Measurement of nitrogen flows).
- National Rice Research Institute - Himanshu Pathak (Nitrogen use in villages in Odisha)
- KIIT University – Rabi Subudhi (Nitrogen use in villages in Odisha)
- The Energy and Resources Institute – Arindam Datta (Use of crops residues to produce biochar)
PAKISTAN
- University of Faisalabad - Abdul Wakeel (Nitrogen use in villages in Pakistan)
MALDIVES
- National University of Maldives - Shazla Mohamed (Nitrogen use on agricultural islands in the Maldives)
NEPAL
- Tribhuvan University - Khem Raj Dahal (Nitrogen use in villages in Nepal)
NIGERIA
- International Food Policy Research Institute (Social impacts of different uses of organic wastes)
SRI LANKA
- University of Peradeniya - Sarath Nissanka (Nitrogen use in villages in Sri Lanka)
UGANDA
- Makerere University - Johnny Mugisha (Social impacts of anaerobic digestion)
- Centre for Research in Energy & Conservation - Vianney Tumwesige (Impacts of biogas)
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
- Coordinator of BI4017 / BI4517 (Honours Essay)
- Lecturer on BI25P4 - People plants and environment
- Lecturer on BI1511 - Ecology and Environmental Science
- Contributes to BI4016 (Honours projects)
- Contributes to Masters Project Course
- Marker on EV4802 (Environmental Risk Assessment
- Marker on BI1009 (Written summaries)
- Publications
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Page 1 of 5 Results 1 to 50 of 203
Qualitative Analysis of Nitrogen Flows within Farms in Darusa, Bangladesh
Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 18, 8226Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGully rehabilitation in Southern Ethiopia: value and impacts for farmers
SOIL, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 637–654Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEmerging investigator series: predicted losses of sulfur and selenium in european soils using machine learning: a call for prudent model interrogation and selection
Environmental Science: Processes and ImpactsContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4em00338a
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Soil application of high-lignin fermentation byproduct to increase the sustainability of liquid biofuel production from crop residues
Environmental Research Letters, vol. 19, no. 8, 083002Contributions to Journals: Review articlesCoupled water-carbon modelling in data-limited sites: a new approach to explore future agroforestry scenarios
Biogeosciences DiscussionsContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2258
The impact of household wealth on soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in enset (Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) based farming systems in Southern Ethiopia
Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, vol. 16, 101180Contributions to Journals: ArticlesChanges in soil properties with long-term organic inputs due to distance from homestead and farm characteristics in southern Ethiopian farmlands
Geoderma Regional, vol. 35, e00710Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEmerging trends in appropriate kiln designs for small-scale biochar production in low to middle income countries
Bioresource Technology Reports, vol. 24, 101641Contributions to Journals: ArticlesImpact of Adding Anaerobic Digestate to Soil and Consequences on Crop Performance
Agronomy, vol. 13, no. 12, 2889Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe three-peat challenge: business as usual, responsible agriculture, and conservation and restoration as management trajectories in global peatlands
Carbon management, vol. 14, no. 1, 2275578Contributions to Journals: ArticlesInvestigating the challenges of biogas provision in water limited environments through laboratory scale biodigesters
International Journal of Sustainable Energy, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 829-844Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGreenhouse gas and ammonia emission mitigation priorities for UK policy targets
Frontiers of Agricultural Science & Engineering, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 268-280Contributions to Journals: ArticlesModelling the deactivation of Escherichia coli in Nigerian soils amended with differently treated manures
Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol. 134, no. 6, lxad098Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEnergy production from municipal solid waste in low to middle income countries: a case study of how to build a circular economy in Abuja, Nigeria
Frontiers in Sustainability, vol. 4, 1173474Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe potential use of biochar to reduce nitrogen waste from farming systems in India
Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 5, 100224Contributions to Journals: ArticlesReclaimed Salt-affected Soils can Effectively Contribute to Carbon Sequestration and Food Grain Production: Evidence from Pakistan
Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 3, 1436Contributions to Journals: ArticlesVertical distribution and influencing factors of deep soil organic carbon in a typical subtropical agricultural watershed
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, vol. 339, 108141Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTemporal Variability in Heterotrophic Carbon Dioxide Emissions From A Drained Tropical Peatland in Uganda
Frontiers in Soil Science, vol. 2, 904647Contributions to Journals: ArticlesModeling long-term attainable soil organic carbon sequestration across the highlands of Ethiopia
Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol. 24, pp. 5131-5162Contributions to Journals: ArticlesChanges in soil properties following the establishment of exclosures in Ethiopia: a meta-analysis
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 10, 823026Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAssessing soil carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from a Scots pine raised bog-edge-woodland
Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 302, no. Part B, 114061Contributions to Journals: ArticlesImpacts of different treatment methods for cattle manure on the spread of faecal indicator organisms from soil to lettuce in Nigeria
Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol. 132, no. 1, pp. 618-632Contributions to Journals: ArticlesClimate Smart agricultural practices improve soil quality through organic carbon enrichment and lower greenhouse gas emissions in farms of bread bowl of India
Soil Research, vol. 60, no. 6, pp. 455-469Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAgricultural Methane Emissions and the Potential for Mitigation
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences, vol. 379, no. 2210, 20200451Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSoil-derived Nature’s Contributions to People and their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 376, no. 1834, 20200185Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe role of soils in provision of energy
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 376, no. 1834Contributions to Journals: ArticlesImportance of short-term temporal variability in soil physical properties for soil water modelling under different tillage practices
Soil & Tillage Research, vol. 213, 105132Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEnvironmental and financial benefits of improved cookstove technologies in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia
Biomass & Bioenergy, vol. 150, 106089Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSeasonal variability of resources: The unexplored adversary of biogas use in rural Ethiopia
Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 3, 100072Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSeasonal patterns of greenhouse gas emissions from a forest-to-bog restored site in northern Scotland: Influence of microtopography and vegetation on carbon dioxide and methane dynamics
European Journal of Soil Science, vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 1332-1353Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13050
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/16363/1/Mazzola_etal_Seasonal_patterns_of_VOR.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Nitrogen Challenges and Opportunities for Agricultural and Environmental Science in India
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, vol. 5, 505347Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHow does replacing natural forests with rubber and oil palm plantations affect soil respiration and methane fluxes?
Ecosphere, vol. 11, no. 11, e03284Contributions to Journals: ArticlesInfluence of biogas digesters on faecal indicator organisms in digestate and around homesteads In ethiopia
Biomass & Bioenergy, vol. 142, 105746Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA New Approach Using Modeling to Interpret Measured Changes in Soil Organic Carbon in Forests: The Case of a 200 Year Pine Chronosequence on a Podzolic Soil in Scotland
Frontiers in Environmental Science, vol. 8, 527549Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA systems model describing the impact of organic resource use on farming households in low to middle income countries
Agricultural Systems, vol. 184, 102895Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA simple approach to modelling the soil water budget in cool temperate mineral topsoils
Environmental Modelling and Software, vol. 127, 104700Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPotential yield challenges to scale-up of zero budget natural farming
Nature Sustainability, vol. 3, pp. 247-252Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0469-x
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/14738/1/Smith_etal_NATSUSTAIN_AAM.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
The dynamics of Household labor allocation to biogas production, farm and non-farm activities in central Uganda
Renewable Energy, vol. 142, pp. 461-467Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA wetland ecosystem service assessment tool: Development and application in a tropical peatland in Uganda
Ecological Indicators, vol. 103, pp. 434-445Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.019
- [ONLINE] View publication in Mendeley
A simple modelling framework for shallow subsurface water storage and flow
Water , vol. 11, no. 8, 1725Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTreatment of organic resources before soil incorporation in semi-arid regions improves resilience to El Niño, and increases crop production and economic returns
Environmental Research Letters, vol. 14, no. 8, 085004Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab2b1b
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/12415/3/Treatment_of_organic_resources_before_soil_incorporation_in_semi_arid_regions_improves_resilience_to_El_Ni_o_and_increases_crop_production_and_economic_returns.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Mendeley
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Bridging barriers to advance multisector approaches to improve food security, nutrition and population health in Nepal: transdisciplinary perspectives
BMC Public Health, vol. 19, 961Contributions to Journals: ArticlesRepowering onshore wind farms: technical and environmental explorations of foundation reuse
Centre for Open Science. 94 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned Reports- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SCZDE
Integrated soil fertility management for sustainable teff (Eragrostistef) production in Halaba, Southern Ethiopia
Cogent Food and Agriculture, vol. 4, no. 1, 1519008Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2018.1519008
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Modelling SoilMAT-ters
Contributions to Conferences: PapersEconomic potential of flexible balloon biogas digester among smallholder farmers: A case study from Uganda
Renewable Energy, vol. 120, pp. 392-400Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAre smallholder farmers willing to pay for a flexible balloon biogas digester? Evidence from a case study in Uganda
Energy for Sustainable Development, vol. 43, pp. 123-129Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2018.01.008
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/11825/1/ERSS_S_17_00235.pdf
Modelling SoilMAT-ters
20th European Geosciences General Assembly 2018Contributions to Conferences: PostersTropical wetland ecosystem service assessments in East Africa; A review of approaches and challenges
Environmental Modelling and Software, vol. 102, pp. 260-273Contributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.01.022
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Calculating potential carbon losses and savings from wind farms on Scottish peatlands: Technical Note–Version 2.10.0.
Scottish Government. 26 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned Reports