Who are we?

Professor Lyn Abbott
Head of the Soil Biology Group - Lyn's interest is in sustainable agricultural systems and in increasing our understanding of the role of soil organisms in soil fertility, including natural ecosystems. Lyn heads the Soil Biology Group, maintains links with industry and research groups, runs workshops on soil fertility, supervises students and lectures in Soil Science. She has written a book entitled "Soils Are Alive" that will be released in the near future. labbott@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Dr Daniel Murphy
Nutrient cycling and organic matter - Daniel came to the Soil Biology Group after several years working at Rothamsted, England. His research interest is in microbial processes and diversity, nutrient cycling and indicators of soil health in agricultural soils. Daniel co-ordinates a two day Soil Biological Fertility Workshop, writes a regular column on soil fertility in the WANTFA newsletter.
dmurphy@agric.uwa.edu.au

Dr Graham Osler
Soil microarthropods - Graham completed his PhD at MacQuarrie University in Sydney and previously worked in Tasmania. Graham is researching the role of beneficial soil organisms in nutrient cycling in agricultural soils and the effect of management practices on their role.
gosler@agric.uwa.edu.au

Dr Zakaria Solaiman
Mycorrhizal Fungi - Zakaria was a Lecturer of Soil Science at Bangladesh Agricultural University. He did his PhD in 1995 at Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology, Japan. He worked on several postdoctoral research positions in Japan, mainly on physiology and molecular biology of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Zakaria is now employed on an ARC Large Grant Project. His current research is on the diversity and functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on Jarrah forest understorey plants. msolaima@agric.uwa.edu.au

Dr Richard Cookson
Nutrient cycling and organic agriculture - Richard has recently joined the Soil Biology Group from New Zealand after completing his PhD and a year of Post Doctoral work. Richard's PhD dealt with nutrient cycling in agricultural soils and he is currently researching the effect of organic management practices on nitrogen cycling and microbial diversity. wcookson@agric.uwa.edu.au

Dr Nui Milton
Nutrient transformations - Nui has recently completed her PhD, which focused on the diversity of nitrifying bacteria in soil. Nui is currently developing a package of indicators of soil health that will be relevant to Western Australian conditions.
nmilton@agric.uwa.edu.au

Frederic Boulet
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi - Frederic is from New Caledonia and is in the second year of his PhD on the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in minesite rehabilitation.
fboulet@agric.uwa.edu.au

 

Krys Haq
Diversity of legume root nodule bacteria - Krys is currently completing her PhD on the diversity of rhizobia and bradyrhizobia in agricultural soils in south-western Auatralia. She works in the Soil Biology Group and the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA). Krys is also involved in producing the Bean Files, a web-based teaching and learning resource for school children. Students learn about life on the land through stories about Billie Bean and his friends at Downsanup Downs.
khaq@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Ben McMillen
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi - Ben is a PhD student investigating the effect of vineyard management on soil health and sustainable productivity with an emphasis on arbuscular mycorrhizal associations. benmcm@agric.uwa.edu.au

 

G Sutarman
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi - Sutarman is completing his PhD on arbuscular mycorrhizas in the Jarrah forest of Western Australia. He has examined the effect of the diversity of communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant growth.
gsutarma@agric.uwa.edu.au

Fadly Yusran
Organic matter - In his PhD studies, Fadly is examining organic matter in lateritic soils which cover much of the south west of Western Australia and are important in the area of Indonesia where he lives. He is investigating the fate of organic matter added to lateritic soils in relation to carbon dynamics and nutrient availability.
fyusran@agric.uwa.edu.au

Jennifer Carson
Jennifer recently completed her honours degree in Soil Science at The University of Western Australia and is spending several weeks working on this website. Jennifer is interested in all areas where soil science and agriculture meet.

 

 

Biological

• What are soil organisms, how do they help soil fertility?
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Chemical

• Which elements are essential for plant health and which may be toxic to plants?
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Physical

• How do soil physical properties affect water movement and nutrient uptake through the plant roots?
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Soils are Alive!

• The complete soil health reference for farmers, consultants and researchers
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