The impact of novel grass-legume mixtures on soil C and N cycling and greenhouse gas emissions
Increasing food supply whilst simultaneously reducing environmental impacts and enhancing resilience to future climate are the key challenges facing agriculture. Increased sustainability and improved N efficiency can be gained through replacing mineral fertiliser with N2-fixing crops. This in turn will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from fertiliser manufacture and N2O emissions associated with fertiliser application. Emissions from the use of these plant species need to be measured to assess net gain. This PhD will focus on quantifying how multispecies pastures/diverse forages reconfigure the structure and function of soil microbial communities, and therein enhance resistance and resilience to climatic perturbation.
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