
Personal Chair
- About
-
- Email Address
- jo.smith@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
Room G45
23 St Machar Drive- School/Department
- School of Biological Sciences
Biography
Educational Background and Qualifications
Institution Period Attended Qualification Year Obtained University College London 1983 - 1986 BSc (Hons) Chemistry 1986 University of Reading 1987 - 1991 PhD, Acidic dissolution of clay minerals 1991 Employment History
Post/Grade Employer Period of Employment Main Duties Senior Lecturer to Professor University of Aberdeen 2001 - present Systems modelling; soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics Band 5 - Senior Research Scientist IACR Rothamsted 1998 - 2000 Simulation of soil organic matter and nitrogen dynamics Band 6 - Postdoctoral research scientist IACR Rothamsted 1991 - 1997 Simulation of soil organic matter and nitrogen dynamics Research Scientist British Petroleum 1990 - 1991 Computer simulation of zeolite materials Research Assistant University of Birmingham 1986 - 1987 Extraction and Characterisation of Humic Substances from Ancient Graves at Sutton Hoo External Memberships
- Associate Editor - Journal Environmental Quality
- Research
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Research Overview
- Systems modelling
- Soil organic matter and nutrient modelling
- Decision support
- Nitrogen fertilizer recommendation
- Carbon sequestration
- Greenhouse gas emissions
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Agricultural Sciences
- Environmental Management
- International Agriculture
- Mathematical Modelling
- Soil Science
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
Systems modelling: Impact of use of organic wastes on resource flows in farming households (carbon, nitrogen, water, energy, labour, finances)
Modelling soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics in:
- Highly organic soils (Scotland, Africa and South Asia)
- Tropical and nutrient depleted soils (Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia)
- High nutrient input soils (China and India)
Past Research
Projects completed in
- estimation of carbon payback time associated with wind farm developments
- anaerobic digestion
- use of organic resources to improve soils
- poverty alleviation in households in Sub-Saharan Africa
Knowledge Exchange
- The Scottish Government Wind farm Carbon Calculator (now used in planning for wind farm developments)
- Installation of demonstration biogas digesters in villages in Uganda and Ethiopia.
- Determination of options for use of organic resources for poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa (technical document and policy brief)
- Engagement with villagers in South Asia on reducing waste of nitrogen in farming systems.
Collaborations
UK
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology - Mark Sutton (nitrogen use efficiency), Ute Skibe (measurement of greenhouse gas emissions), Julia Drewer (greenhouse gas emissions).
- James Hutton Insitute - Lisa Avery (Bioslurry and pathogens); Jagadeesh Yeluripati (Zero Budget Natural Farming)
- Rothamsted Research - Tom Misselbrook (N use in livestock systems).
- University of Edinburgh - Jon Hillier (Cool Farm Tool); Alfie Gathorne-Hardy (Biodiversity and nitrogen use).
- Scottish Rural College - Bob Rees (Field trials on nitrogen use efficiency).
- Moredun Institute - Phillip Skuce (Health impacts of organic resource use)
AFGHANISTAN Kabul University - Safi Zikrullah (Nitrogen use in villages in Afghanistan)
BANGLADESH
- Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University - Md. Mizanur Rahman (N use in villages in Bangladesh)
- University of Rajshahi - Md Toufiq Iqbal (N use in villages in Bangladesh)
- Bangladesh Rice Research Institute - Umme Aminun Naher (N use in villages in Bangladesh)
CAMEROON
- Catholic University Cameroon - Kenneth Yongabi (Anaerobic digestion for poverty alleviation)
CHINA
- Nanjing Agricultural University - Genxing Pan (Use of crops residues to produce biochar)
ETHIOPIA
- Addis Ababa University - Assefa Abegaz (Household energy and recycling of nutrients)
- Hawassa University - Tewodros Tefera (Social impacts of organic resource use)
- Southern Agricultural Research Institute – Getahun Yakob (Measurement of changes in soil properties with management of organic resources)
- International Water Management Institute – Wolde Bori (Changes in ecosystem services in exclosure areas)
INDIA
- Indian Agricultural Research Institute - Sanjoy Bandyopadhyay (Nitrogen use in villages in Haryana); Rabindra Nath Pradaria (Socio-economic survey of villages); Arti Bhatia (Measurement of nitrogen flows).
- National Rice Research Institute - Himanshu Pathak (Nitrogen use in villages in Odisha)
- KIIT University – Rabi Subudhi (Nitrogen use in villages in Odisha)
- The Energy and Resources Institute – Arindam Datta (Use of crops residues to produce biochar)
PAKISTAN
- University of Faisalabad - Abdul Wakeel (Nitrogen use in villages in Pakistan)
MALDIVES
- National University of Maldives - Shazla Mohamed (Nitrogen use on agricultural islands in the Maldives)
NEPAL
- Tribhuvan University - Khem Raj Dahal (Nitrogen use in villages in Nepal)
NIGERIA
- International Food Policy Research Institute (Social impacts of different uses of organic wastes)
SRI LANKA
- University of Peradeniya - Sarath Nissanka (Nitrogen use in villages in Sri Lanka)
UGANDA
- Makerere University - Johnny Mugisha (Social impacts of anaerobic digestion)
- Centre for Research in Energy & Conservation - Vianney Tumwesige (Impacts of biogas)
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
- Coordinator of BI4017 / BI4517 (Honours Essay)
- Lecturer on BI25P4 - People plants and environment
- Lecturer on BI1511 - Ecology and Environmental Science
- Contributes to BI4016 (Honours projects)
- Contributes to Masters Project Course
- Marker on EV4802 (Environmental Risk Assessment
- Marker on BI1009 (Written summaries)
- Publications
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Page 1 of 21 Results 1 to 10 of 207
Stable water isotopes reveal modification of cereal water uptake strategies in agricultural co-cropping systems
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, vol. 381, 109439Contributions to Journals: ArticlesResponses of surface runoff and soil water-erosion to changes in seasonal land cover and rainfall intensity; the case of Shilansha watershed, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, vol. 58, 102289Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102289
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
How the Concept “Regenerative Good Growth” Could Help Increase Public and Policy Engagement and Speed Transitions to Net Zero and Nature Recovery
Sustainability, vol. 17, no. 3, 849Contributions to Journals: ArticlesVillage level fertilizer management for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, rice yield and household income
Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 1-19Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2025.2457764
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Qualitative Analysis of Nitrogen Flows within Farms in Darusa, Bangladesh
Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 18, 8226Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGully rehabilitation in Southern Ethiopia: value and impacts for farmers
SOIL, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 637–654Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEmerging investigator series: predicted losses of sulfur and selenium in european soils using machine learning: a call for prudent model interrogation and selection
Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, vol. 26, no. 9, pp. 1503-1515Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4em00338a
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Soil application of high-lignin fermentation byproduct to increase the sustainability of liquid biofuel production from crop residues
Environmental Research Letters, vol. 19, no. 8, 083002Contributions to Journals: Review articlesCoupled water-carbon modelling in data-limited sites: a new approach to explore future agroforestry scenarios
Working Papers: Preprint Papers- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2258
The impact of household wealth on soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in enset (Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) based farming systems in Southern Ethiopia
Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, vol. 16, 101180Contributions to Journals: Articles