Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change
The Greenhous Gas and Climate Change Group measures, models and mitigates greenhouse gas (N2O, CO2 and CH4) emissions from diverse agricultural systems.
Sustainable agricultural intensification is the key to satisfying growing food demand without further degrading our natural environments and ecosystems. Our group recognises the importance of accurate quantification of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and the urgency of their effective mitigation.
We adopt state-of-the-art micrometeorological techniques to conduct real-time, continuous measurement of greenhouse gas emissions; the latest fertiliser technologies to decrease N2O emissions to the environment; and advanced chemical engineering to optimise the use of brown/black coal in decreasing NH3 volatilisation from intensive animal feedlots.
We apply agroecosystem process-based modelling to identify the best N management practices for diverse growing regions in Australia to achieve sustainable production under current and future climates. Our work also covers the mitigation strategies for C losses from land use change and the soil-plant interaction of C and N dynamics under elevated atmospheric CO2.
News and events
Contact the team
Dr Shu Kee (Raymond) Lam
shukee.lam@unimelb.edu.au
+613 9035 9619
Professor Deli Chen
The Soils and Environment research group seeks to understand the impacts of agricultural management on soil processes and develop technology to improve agricultural sustainability.
We carry out a range of fundamental and applied research with the aim to help policy makers, industry partners and farmers make evidence-based decisions. Current research strengths and activities include:
- Nutrient cycling in agro-ecosystems;
- Measuring, modelling and mitigating air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, particularly intensive animal production system;
- Novel fertiliser technologies;
- Agro-ecosystem modelling and decisions support tools for efficient fertilisers use;
- Reuse and recycling of agricultural and urban wastes;
- Big data (data mining): Green index, nitrogen footprint, decision support systems for fertiliser use;
- Soil and environmental microbiomes;
- Transmission of antibiotic resistance genes in agro-ecosystems;
- Soil microbial evolution and biogeography.
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Soil node – Melbourne TrACEES Platform
The Melbourne Trace Analysis for Chemical, Earth and Environmental Sciences (TrACEES) Platform’s Soil node has a strong capability in soils and environmental research and testing.
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State-of-the-art instruments for trace gas measurements using micrometeorological techniques
Real-time, continuous field-scale measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from farms.
Our group members
Professor Deli Chen
Professor of Soil Science
Redmond Barry Distinguished ProfessorProfessor Chen has expertise in water and nutrient dynamics in plant-soil systems, GIS based agroecosystem modelling and decision support systems for optimal irrigation and fertilizer management; and the measures, models and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions from land sources, impact of climate on agro-ecosystems, agricultural ‘big data’ and sustainable indices.
Dr Shu Kee (Raymond) Lam
Senior Lecturer in Climate Change and Biogeochemistry
Dr Lam's research focuses on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in agroecosystems, including soil-plant interactions under climate change (elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration) and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions using urease and nitrification inhibitors. He also has expertise in global data synthesis (including meta-analysis).
The Greenhous Gas and Climate Change Group measures, models and mitigates greenhouse gas (N2O, CO2 and CH4) emissions from diverse agricultural systems.
We quantify the emissions of direct and indirect greenhouse gases from various agricultural systems, including dairy pasture, grain cropping, vegetable production and intensive feedlot systems, as well as ammonia deposition surrounding intensive feedlots. We apply advanced micrometeorological techniques using open- and closed- path Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, open-path lasers, quantum cascade lasers etc. for field (paddock) scale measurements. We have developed an internationally acclaimed, spatially-referenced and process-based water and nitrogen management model (WNMM) for broadacre and intensive agricultural systems, and a Decision Support System for optimum irrigation and fertiliser N application. We also examine the effectiveness of urease and nitrification inhibitors, and controlled release fertilisers in decreasing NH3 and N2O emissions from crop and pasture systems, whereas lignite and modified black coal in minimising NH3 emission from intensive animal production systems.
Current projects
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ARC Research Hub for Innovative Nitrogen Fertilisers and Inhibitors
This Research Hub aims to transform agriculture by delivering a new class of nitrogen (N) fertilisers and inhibitors designed to stem the 50-80% losses to the environment in current products. It is intended to generate new knowledge and valuable intellectual property in controlled released and coated N fertiliser products using a novel co-design process involving representatives of the whole value chain from product design through to validation and adoption. The project estimates possible 20% gains in efficiency of N use, delivering large costs savings, improved productivity, increased profitability and decreased environmental impacts, helping the Australian food and agribusiness sector to reach its 2030 target of $100B value added.
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Emissions avoidance of soil carbon from lands undergoing practice change
Tropical rainforests and peatlands store huge amounts of carbon. The project utilises latest information in published and grey literature, data mining, meta-analysis, and a scoping study visit to Indonesia to understand the factors that affect the rate of soil carbon loss from systems undergoing land use change from native vegetation, and to assess the potential of management practice options to prevent or reduce soil carbon loss from land use change from native vegetation to production agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region.
Project
Completed projects
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Mitigation of indirect greenhouse gases in intensive agricultural production systems with the use of inhibitors
Use of urease and nitrification inhibitors applied with fertilisers was assessed for impacts on ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions.
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Long-term total greenhouse gases emissions from beef feedlots
Livestock production facilities produce vast quantities of NH3 and CH4. The project quantified ammonia, other gaseous N sources (and methane) over the whole production cycle; developed new tools and models to understand if these gases can be abated at critical points of the nutrient lifecycle; modelled the N footprint of feedlot systems; and developed decision support tools to increase producers ability to use and manage surplus N in the production system.
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Reducing N₂O emissions from applied nitrogen with nitrification inhibitors: Identification of the key drivers of performance
The effectiveness of nitrification inhibitors in reducing nitrous oxide emissions depends upon climatic and edaphic factors.
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Integrated Greenhouse Gas Measurement System (IGMS) for monitoring agricultural emissions at field to regional scales
Accurate measurements of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are critical for evaluating mitigation strategies and measurement, reporting and verification of offset projects under the national Carbon Farming Initiative.
Project
The Greenhous Gas and Climate Change Group measures, models and mitigates greenhouse gas (N2O, CO2 and CH4) emissions from diverse agricultural systems.