![Professor Paul Hallett Professor Paul Hallett](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/s09ph2/Paul_Harbin_2014.jpg)
F.I. Soil Sci.
Chair in Soil Physics
- About
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- Email Address
- paul.hallett@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272264
- Office Address
Room 2.23, Cruickshank Building, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen Aberdeen, AB24 3UU
- School/Department
- School of Biological Sciences
Biography
Previous Employment
2011 - 2013
Head of Sustainable Production Theme, The James Hutton Institute 2008 - 2011
Head of Plant-Soil Interface Group, Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) 1997 - 2008
Research Scientist, SCRI 1995 - 1997
Postdoctoral Scientist, Silsoe Research Institute, Silsoe, UK Education
BSc Agriculture, University of Guelph (1992)
PhD Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham (1996)
How special soil observatories in China are helping to create more sustainable agriculture
Links with China date back to 2000, with many scientists and students hosted in Aberdeen over the years. Ongoing research using Critical Zone Observatories explores the environment from the top of trees to the bottom of the groundwater acquirer to gain a holistic understanding. We are exploring how agricultural management drives the environment, currently seeking solutions for more sustainable management practices.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Postgraduate Research Coordinator, School of Biological Sciences
Member of Senate
MSc Soil Science, Course Tutor
- External Memberships
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NERC Peer Review College, Core Panel Member
Technical Editor, SOIL
Associate Editor, European Journal of Soil Science
Co-Editor, Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics
Latest Publications
Rhizosphere development under alternate wetting and drying in puddled paddy rice
European Journal of Soil Science, vol. 75, no. 4, e13533Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGully rehabilitation in Southern Ethiopia – value and impacts for farmers
SOIL Discussions (SOILD)Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMicroplastics alter soil structural stability as quantified by high-energy moisture characteristics
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 134940Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134940
Future proofing a long-term agricultural experiment for decades to come: Relocation and redesign
European Journal of Agronomy, vol. 158, 127214Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEffects of soil structure complexity to root growth of plants with contrasting root architecture
Soil and Tillage Research, vol. 238, 106023Contributions to Journals: Articles
- Research
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Research Overview
I am a Soil Physicist working on solutions to food and environmental security, mainly focussed on the interactions between plants, microorganisms and the physical behaviour of soil. My work spans from understanding the fundamental processes driving changes in soil physical properties by biology, through to applied research examining soil degradation and the underlying causes. Recent and current projects study the capacity of different plant root traits to physically engineer soil, crop selection impact on hydrological cycling in southern China, the use of vegetation to mechanically stabilise engineered slopes, soil physical impacts on nitrogen fertiliser use efficiency in Brazil and the better use of organic resources in Ethiopia to improve soils and their capacity to produce food. This research is funded by a number of research councils.
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
- Soil Science
- Environmental Sciences
- Agriculture
- Sustainable Agriculture and Landscape Development
- Biophysical 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
My current research has four main areas: (1) engineering of the soil physical environment by plant roots, (2) impact of soil physical conditions on microbial processes, pollutant transport and root growth, (3) biophysical resilience of soil to stresses and (4) management of soil physical conditions for crop productivity. It is underpinned by a cross-disciplinary team of staff and collaborators that includes plant scientists, soil biologists, geotechnical engineers, chemists and hydrologists. The research uses a range of approaches including micron scale non-invasive imaging up to larger scale critical zone observatories.
Research Group
Technician
Jaime Buckingham - Soil Physics Research Technician
XRay CT Manager
Postdoctoral Scientists
Dr Maria Marin - NERC Signals in the Soil
Dr Nasrollah Sepehrnia - MSCA Experienced Researcher - TRAMPAS
Past Research
Postdoctoral Alumni
Dr Clare Brown, BBSRC NUCLEUS
Dr Fiona Fraser, RESAS Soil Resilience
Dr Muhammad Naveed, BBSRC Rhizosphere by Design
Dr Joe Oyesiku-Blakemore, NERC MIDST
Dr Hu Zhou, NERC RedSoilCZO
PhD Alumni (current students at bottom of page)
Yang Gao, Modelling and measuring soil organic carbon under different tillage practices in agricultural soils of the UK. 2017-2020. Principal Supervisor – Prof. Pete Smith
Mohsin Raza, Development of green value chemicals from renewable sources and their physical properties. 2017-2020. Principal Supervisor - Dr Waheed Afzal (School of Engineering)
Mike Ogden - Habitat engineering by ectomycorrhizal fungi. 2013-2019. Co-supervised by Prof. D. Johnson.
Taupik Rahman, Influence of soil physical structure on nutrient capture by plants. 2018-2019 (MSc by Research)
Ewan Oleghe - Physical priming of rhizosphere soil. Co-supervised by Prof. Liz Baggs. 2015-2018.
Anastasia Fountouli - Are pH driven shifts to soil physical structure caused by chemical or biological process? 2013-2017. Co-supervised by Prof. Graeme Paton, Prof. Christine Watson (SRUC) and Dr Robin Walker (SRUC).
Xin Shu - Sustainability of nutrient cycling processes associated with arable land management (U. Aberdeen and SRUC). 2014-2017. Principal Supervisor - Prof. Bryan Griffiths (SRUC)
Purnomo Sidi - The suitability of Eichomia cressipes as loss circultion material on oil and gas drilling industry. 2013-2017. Principal Supervisor - Dr. Waheed Afzal (School of Engineering). Funded by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Republic of Indonesia.
Marianne Kuntz – Does soil organic matter, matter? (U. Aberdeen and SRUC). 2013-2016. Principal Supervisor – Prof. Liz Baggs
Rice roots bypass plough pans with biopores and cracks
This is a recent paper by PhD student Md Dhin Islam. He found that a deep rooting rice cultivar exploited biopores and cracks to penetrate plough pans to access deep water and nutrients. A shallow rooting rice cultivar was much poorer at doing this. Most interestingly, roots responded differently to growing through cracks to biopores.
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Biological and Environmental Sciences.
A team of PhD students in the Soil Biophysics Group explores a diverse array of topics on physical and biological interactions in soil. Graduates have research positions around the world in universities and research institutes.
The PhD students are truly multidisciplinary, made possible by diverse supervisory teams from different schools, universities and institutions.
Funding and Grants
Recent Grants
NERC/NSF: SitS NSF-UKRI: Wireless In-Situ Soil Sensing Network for Future Sustainable Agriculture. NE/T011068/1. Natural Environment Research Council/National Science Foundation USA. D. Young (Utah, PI), E. Yeatmans (Imperial), G. Norton (Aberdeen) and other partners, 2019-2021, £1500k - Co-PI
ESRC: Reducing land degradation and carbon loss from Ethiopia's soils to strengthen livelihoods and resilience (RALENTIR). ES/T003073/1. Economic and Social Research Council. E. Phimister (Aberdeen, PI), J. Smith (Aberdeen),W. Mekuria (IWMU), T. Tefera (U. Hawassa), A. Byg (The James Hutton Institute, G. Edo (Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Hawassa), A. Fischer (SLU) and others, 2019-2022, £921k - CoI
NERC: MIDST-CZ: Maximising Impact by Decision Support Tools for sustainable soil and water through UK-China Critical Zone science. NE/S009167/1. Natural Environment Research Council/Newton Fund. 56 partners in the UK and China, 2019-2021, £1097k - PI
BBSRC: NUCLEUS: a virtual joint centre to deliver enhanced Nitrogen Use effiCiency via an integrated SoiL-plant systEms approach for the Uk & BraSil. BB/N013204/1. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)/Newton Fund. with S. Mooney (Nottingham, PI), Bangor, Rothamsted and 7 Brazilian partners, 2016-2019, £2241k - CoI
ESRC: Improving Organic Resource use in rural Ethiopia (IPORE). ES/P002501/1. ESRC/NEXUS. with E. Phimister (Aberdeen, PI), J. Smith (Aberdeen), A. Fekadu (S. Nations, Ethiopia), W. Bori (IWMI, Ethiopia), T. Tefera (Hawassa, Ethiopia), G. Yakub (SARI, Ethiopia) and A. Fekadu (SARI, Ethiopia), 2016-2018, £166k - CoI
NERC: Building Resilience in Ethiopia's Awassa region to Drought (BREAD. NERC El Nino. NE/P004830/1. with J. Smith (Aberdeen, PI), E. Phimister (Aberdeen), A. Byg (JHI), M. Rivington (JHI), H. Black (JHI), T. Tefera (Hawassa, Ethiopia) and A. Fischer (JHI), 2016-2018, £297k - CoI
NERC: Red Soil CZ: From natural to anthropogenic evolution of Red Soil and its impact on ecosystem function in the Critical Zone. NE/N007611/1. J. Smith (SBS Aberdeen) and J. Geris (Geosciences Aberdeen), and M. Hodson (York). In collaboration with the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2016-2019, £800k - PI
BBSRC: Rhizosphere by design: breeding to select root traits that physically manipulate soil. BB/L026058/1. T. Roose and I. Sinclair (Southampton), G. Bengough (Dundee) and T. George (JHI), 2014-18, £1363k - PI
EPSRC: Rooting for sustainable performance. EP/M019713G. Bengough (Dundee, PI), J. Knappett, D. Muir Wood, J. Smethurst (Southampton), T. Roose, I. Sinclar, W. Powrie. 2015-2019. £1578k - CoI
NERC: Multi-Vis: A high resolution large scale X-Ray CT Scanner to build a multi-scale environmental science focussed facility in northern UK. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Strategic Environmental Science Capital Call, with Dubravka Pokrajac. 2015. £350k - PI
ESRC: Network of Organic Resource use in rural Africa (NORA). Nexus research partnership programme Networking Grant. E. Phimister (PI), J. Smith, B. Balana (IWMI, Ghana), A. Fekadu (SARI, Ethiopia), A. Fischer (JHI), H. Homans, P. Smith, T. Tefera (U. Hawassa, Ethiopia). £20k - CoI
CREW (Scottish Government). Effect of soil structure and field drainage on water quality and flood risk. Allan Lilly and Nikki Baggaley (JHI), Bruce Ball (SRUC) and Bill Crookes (SAC Consulting). £140k - PI
AHDB - Potato Council - Platforms to test and demonstrate sustainable soil management: integration of major UK field experiments, Potato Council, with B. McKenzie (PI), T. George (JHI), Mark Stalham and David Firman (CUF), 2012-2016, £210k, Co-I
AHDB - HGCA - Platforms to test and demonstrate sustainable soil management: integration of major UK field experiments, HGCA, with B. McKenzie, T. George, T. Valentine, and A. Newton (JHI) and Ron Stobart (NIAB), 2012-2016, £644k – PI transferred to BM on move to U. Aberdeen
- Teaching
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Programmes
- Postgraduate, 3 stage, September start
We offer the only dedicated soil science degree in the UK and one of the few remaining in Europe. Soils have risen markedly on political agendas because they are central to climate change and food security. The decades long legacy of work in this area provides comprehensive and cutting edge teaching.
Teaching Responsibilities
Course Tutor - MSc Soil Science
EV3001/SS5008 - Global Soil Geography (Course Coordinator)
PL3309/SS5305 - Soils for Food Security (Course Co-Coordinator)
BI1509 - Ecology and Environmental Sciences (Laboratory Tutorials)
BI25P4 - Plants, People, and the Environment (Lecture)