Emily C. Cooledge

Bangor University · School of Natural Sciences

The microbial partitioning of organic carbon (C) into either anabolic (i.e. growth) or catabolic (i.e. respiration) metabolic pathways represents a key process regulating the amount of added C that is retained in soil. The factors regulating C use efficiency (CUE) in agricultural soils, however, remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was t...

The leaching of base cations in acidic soils can result in calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) deficiencies, which are important for microbial cell function. We aimed to determine if microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were limited in acidic soils due to a lack of base cations. Microbial CUE across a range of ag...

Agricultural intensification and the subsequent decline of mixed farming systems has led to an increase in continuous cropping with only a few fallow or break years, undermining global soil health. Arable-ley rotations incorporating temporary pastures (leys) lasting 1–4 years may alleviate soil degradation by building soil fertility and improving s...

Herbal leys (multispecies swards) can potentially deliver greater agronomic and environmental benefits than conventional grass-clover swards in grazed agroecosystems. However, despite their popularity in agri-environment schemes, little is known about the effect of herbal leys on soil physical (e.g., porosity), chemical (e.g., carbon), and biologic...

Commercial herbal leys (multispecies swards) are rapidly gaining popularity due to their potential to deliver an enhanced suite of ecosystem services. However, little is known about their impact on lamb production. A 2-ha split-field experiment using an herbal and grass-clover ley (0.33 ha paddock − 1 , n = 3 per sward) aimed to evaluate the effect...

The application of lime and mineral fertiliser is known to mitigate soil acidification and improve soil quality in improved grasslands. However, the long-term effect of simultaneous lime and fertiliser amendments on soil carbon (C) and sulphur (S) cycling is still poorly understood. To examine if soil pH or nutrient availability are the dominant fa...

Wastewater treatment plants are well known point sources of emissions of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) into the environment. Although most work to date has focused on ARG dispersal via effluent, aerial dispersal in bioaerosols is a poorly understood, but likely important vector for ARG dispersal. Recent evidence suggests that ARG profiles o...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) loss from intensive agriculture represents a major global concern. Consequently, strategies to improve soil management to enhance carbon (C) sequestration are urgently needed. Nutrient availability, especially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), regulates soil C cycling and storage. While N effects are well studied, less is k...

Agriculture is essential for providing food and maintaining food security while concurrently delivering multiple other ecosystem services. However, agricultural systems are generally a net source of greenhouse gases and ammonia. They, therefore, need to substantively contribute to climate change mitigation and net zero ambitions. It is widely ackno...

Ongoing specialization of crop and livestock systems provides socioeconomic benefits to the farmer but has led to greater externalization of environmental costs when compared to mixed farming systems. Better integration of crop and livestock systems offers great potential to rebalance the economic and environmental trade-offs in both systems. The a...