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 7 of 21 Results 61 to 70 of 203
Water for small-scale biogas digesters in sub-Saharan Africa
Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 339–357Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEstimating the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the greenhouse gas balance of soils in Wales under current and future climate
Regional Environmental Change, vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 2357-2368Contributions to Journals: ArticlesType and extent of trans-disciplinary co-operation to improve food security, health and household environment in low and middle income countries: systematic review
BMC Public Health, vol. 16, 1093Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSimulation of greenhouse gases following land-use change to bioenergy crops using the ECOSSE model: a comparison between site measurements and model predictions
Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 925-940Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12298
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/7435/1/Dondini_et_al_2016_GCB_Bioenergy_1_.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Evaluation of the ECOSSE model for simulating soil organic carbon under Miscanthus and short rotation coppice-willow crops in Britain
Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 790-804Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHow do the heterotrophic and the total soil respiration of an oil palm plantation on peat respond to nitrogen fertilizer application?
Geoderma, vol. 268, pp. 41-51Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.01.016
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Spatial and temporal dynamics of soil organic carbon in landscapes of the upper Blue Nile Basin of the Ethiopian Highlands
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, vol. 218, pp. 190-208Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.11.019
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Mathematical Modeling of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture for Different End Users
Synthesis and modelling of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage in agricultural and forest systems to guide mitigation and adaptation. Del Grosso, S., Parton, W., Ahuja, L. (eds.). American Society of Agronomy, pp. 197-227, 31 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersNitrous oxide emissions along a gradient of tropical forest disturbance on mineral soils in Sumatra
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, vol. 214, pp. 107-117Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.08.022
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Sustainable use of organic resources for bioenergy, food and water provision in rural Sub-Saharan Africa
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 50, pp. 903-917Contributions to Journals: Articles