Research interests:
Development and application of stable isotope techniques to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from soils and to distinguish between different microbial sources.
Linking emissions to microbial diversity and gene expression.
Plant-soil and plant-microbe interactions.
Soil fertility in tropical and temperate agricultural systems.
Career history:
2017: University of Edinburgh
2011-: Head, School of Biological Sciences
2011: Established Chair of Soil Science, University of Aberdeen.
2010: Elected Fellow of the Society of Biology.
2009-2010: Senior Lecturer, University of Aberdeen.
2004-2009: NERC Advanced Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen.
2000-2004: Wain Research Fellow / Lecturer, Imperial College London, Wye Campus.
1997-2000: Lecturer in Soil Biology and Chemistry, Wye College, University of London.
1997: PhD Soil Science. University of Edinburgh.
Active research projects:
NERC: Assessing the potential of mRNA-FISH FACS for isolation of functional soil bacterial populations for quantifying biogeochemical cycle interactions. 2012. Led by Dr Liz Shaw (Uni Reading).
BBSRC: Linkages between plant functional diversity, soil biological communities and ecosystem services in agricultural grassland. September 2011-August 2016. In collaboration with Prof Richard Bardgett (Uni Lancaster), Dr Nick Ostle (CEH Lancaster), Dr David Johnson (Uni Aberdeen).
BBSRC India Partnering Award: Integrating experimental and modelling approaches to understand and predict greenhouse gas emissions. May 2010-April 2013. In collaboration with Dr Adhya, CRRI, Cuttack, Prof Pete Smith (Uni Aberdeen) and Dr Jo Smith (Uni Aberdeen).
BBSRC: Understanding nitrous oxide emission from denitrifying bacteria: integrating chemostat and soil studies. April 2010-March 2013. In collaboration with Prof David Richardson (UEA).
NERC: Are tropical uplands regional hotspots for methane and nitrous oxide? March 2010-February 2013. In collaboration with Dr Yit Arn Teh (Uni St Andrews), Prof Pete Smith (Uni Aberdeen), Dr Patrick Meir (Uni Edinburgh).
BBSRC USPA: A microarray for rhizosphere soil, a key driver of climate change. April 2008-March 2012. In collaboration with Prof Mary Firestone (UC Berkeley) and Prof Josh Schimel (UC Santa Barbara).
Recent publications:
Nair, RKF., Perks, MP., Weatherall, A., Baggs, EM. & Mencuccini, M. (2016). ‘Does canopy nitrogen uptake enhance carbon sequestration by trees?’. Global Change Biology, vol 22, no. 2, pp. 875-888.
Teh, YA., Diem, T., Jones, S., Huaraca Quispe, LP., Baggs, E., Morley, N., Richards, M., Smith, P. & Meir, P. (2014). ‘Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes across an elevation gradient in the tropical Peruvian Andes’. Biogeosciences, vol 11, no. 8, pp. 2325-2339.
Morley, NJ., Richardson, DJ. & Baggs, EM. (2014). ‘Substrate Induced Denitrification over or under Estimates Shifts in Soil N2/N2O Ratios’. PloS one, vol 9, no. 9, e108144.
Teh, YA., Diem, T., Jones, S., Huaraca Quispe, LP., Baggs, E., Morley, N., Richards, M., Smith, P. & Meir, P. (2013). ‘Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from the tropical Andes’. Biogeosciences, vol 10, pp. 17397-17438.
Rowley, G., Hensen, D., Felgate, H., Arkenberg, A., Appia-Ayme, C., Prior, K., Harrington, C., Field, SJ., Butt, JN., Baggs, E. & Richardson, DJ. (2012). ‘Resolving the contributions of the membrane-bound and periplasmic nitrate reductase systems to nitric oxide and nitrous oxide production in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium’. Biochemical Journal, vol 441, no. 2, pp. 755-762