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
Completed projects
The Greenhous Gas and Climate Change Group measures, models and mitigates greenhouse gas (N2O, CO2 and CH4) emissions from diverse agricultural systems.