I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Officer in Environmental Science, working alongside Prof Davey Jones and Prof Dave Chadwick. My current areas of research include: 

1. Exploring soil nutrient cycling (e.g., C and P) and its impact on microbial ecology (e.g., carbon use efficiency) in dryland (e.g., Atacama desert, Australian soils) ecosystems.
2. Understanding long-term microplastic pollution and the degradation of plastic additives (e.g., DEHP and DBP) in soil.
3. Identifying critical 'tipping points' in soils subjected to extreme heat-stress events.
4. Wildfire soil ecology and strategies (e.g., fire retardants) to enhance resilience. 
5. The environmental impact of biosolid derived biochar (e.g., heavy metals, microplastics, antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRs), PFAS).
6. Lowland grassland management and sustainable livestock production. 

Alongside my postdoctoral research, I regularly lead and oversee research projects and supervise students conducting radiolabelled (e.g., ¹⁴C, ³³P, and ³⁵S) and non-radiolabelled experiments. I am available for external collaborations to establish new projects. 

My PhD research was based on the exploring the agronomic and environmental benefits of grazing multispecies 'herbal' leys on lowland sheep production. The results of this research have been published open-access in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 

Supervisors:

Prof Davey Jones & Prof Dave Chadwick

• PhD: Exploring the agronomic and environmental effects of herbal leys on lowland sheep production
  2019–2024
• BSc: BSc (Hons) Geography
  2015–2018

Research Interests:

• Soil biogeochemistry.
• Microplastic pollution. 
• Extreme weather events (e.g., flooding, heat-stress).
• Wildfires.
• Herb- and legume-rich multispecies 'herbal' leys.
• Livestock productivity and health.
• Sustainable agricultural intensification.

Current Research:

As a Postdoctoral Research Officer in Environmental Science, I am responsible for a diverse portfolio of biogeochemistry projects exploring nutrient cycling and plant-soil-microbial interactions in a broad spectrum of global soils. I work closely with Prof Davey Jones and Prof Dave Chadwick to create and deliver new research ideas, primarily using radioisotope (¹⁴C, ³³P and ³⁵S) tracing techniques. Our current focus is to explore how a wide range of stress events (e.g., extreme temperatures, wildfires, salinity), contaminants (e.g., microplastics, PFAS), and bioamendments (e.g., biosolid derived biochar) affect soil biogeochemistry and microbial activity. 

In this role we have scope to develop new external collaborations, please get in contact if you are interested. 

PhD Research:

PhD thesis title: Exploring the agronomic and environmental effects of herbal leys on lowland sheep production

During my PhD project, I developed a comprehensive 2-year, 2-ha split-field experiment at Bangor University's Henfaes Research Centre that closely aligned with the aims of the wider BBSRC-SARIC research project (BB/R021716/1). My PhD project utilised Welsh mountain lambs (Ovis aries) grazing either a herb- and legume-rich multispecies 'herbal' ley or a conventional grass-clover ley to assess the impacts on soil biogeochemistry (e.g., C and N cycling), greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., N₂O) and ammonia (NH₃) volatilisation, soil structure (e.g., porosity using X-ray μCT), livestock excreta composition (e.g., urine-N), livestock productivity (e.g., liveweight gain) and health (e.g., gastrointestinal parasite burden, blood biomarkers), and sward productivity (e.g., macro- and micronutrient content). 

Previous Research Projects:

I have previously worked with Prof Daniel Murphy at the University of Western Australia on the Soils Quality project, funded by the GRDC (Grains Research and Development Corporation) on an Australian national soil quality project. Using radioisotopes (¹⁴C), we investigated microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) of 970 agricultural soils taken from across Western Australia to determine the relationship between soil pH, cations (e.g., Al³⁺), and CUE.

Similarly, I was also a Research Support Technician on an industry funded project investigating the uptake and transport of commerical foliar applied phosphorus fertilisers in hydroponically grown wheat (Triticum aestivum) using radioisotope tracing techniques (³³P). 

BSc dissertation:

BSc thesis title: Upland-N₂O emissions: Investigating spatial differences in urine-patch N₂O emissions.

Achieved the School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography (SENRGy - now School of Natural Sciences) award for 'Best Undergraduate Project' for the 2018 cohort.

For my undergraduate thesis, I produced an incubation study based on the NERC funded Uplands-N₂O project, led by PI Prof Dave Chadwick. I investigated urine-patch N₂O emissions from artificial sheep urine applied to acid grassland “island” and peat cores taken from the uplands of North Wales to generate a 41-day IPCC upland specific emission factor.  

2025

• E-pub ahead of printIs one year enough? A commentary on field experiment duration in agricultural research
  Jones, D. L., Cooledge, E. & Chadwick, D., 1 Aug 2025, In: Agricultural Systems. 228, 104393.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2024

• PublishedHerbal leys have no effect on soil porosity, earthworm abundance, and microbial community composition compared to a grass-clover ley in a sheep grazed grassland after 2-years
  Cooledge, E., Sturrock, C., Atkinson, B., Mooney, S., Brailsford, F., Murphy, D., Leake, J., Chadwick, D. & Jones, D. L., 1 May 2024, In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 365, 108928.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedHerbal leys increase forage macro- and micronutrient content, spring lamb nutrition, liveweight gain, and reduce gastrointestinal parasites compared to a grass-clover ley
  Cooledge, E., Kendall, N., Leake, J., Chadwick, D. & Jones, D. L., 15 Jun 2024, In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 367, 108991.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedNeedles in haystacks: monitoring the potential escape of bioaerosolised antibacterial resistance genes from wastewater treatment plants with air and phyllosphere sampling
  George, P., Hillary, L., Leclerc, S., Cooledge, E., Lemieux, J., Duchaine, C. & Jones, D. L., 1 Aug 2024, In: Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 70, 8, p. 348-357 10 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedPhosphorus fertilization promotes carbon cycling and negatively affects microbial carbon use efficiency in agricultural soils: Laboratory incubation experiments
  Sánchez-Rodríguez, A., Carmen del Campillo, M., Torrent, J., Cooledge, E., Chadwick, D. & Jones, D. L., 1 Oct 2024, In: Geoderma. 450, 117038.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedSoil pH and phosphorus availability regulate sulphur cycling in an 82-year-old fertilised grassland
  Wang, Q., Bauke, S., Döring, T., Yin, J., Cooledge, E., Jones, D. L., Chadwick, D., Tietema, A. & Bol, R., 1 Jul 2024, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 109436.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2023

• PublishedGreenhouse gas and ammonia emission mitigation priorities for UK policy targets
  Buckingham, S., Topp, C. F. E., Smith, P., Eory, V., Chadwick, D., Baxter, C., Cloy, J. M., Connolly, S., Cooledge, E., Cowan, N. J., Drewer, J., Duffy, C., Fox, N. J., Jebari, A., Jenkins, B., Krol, D. J., Marsden, K., McAuliffe, G. A., Morrison, S. J. & O'Flaherty, V. & 10 others, Ramsey, R., Richards, K. G., Roehe, R., Smith, J., Smith, K., Takahashi, T., Thorman, R. E., Williams, J., Wiltshire, J. & Rees, R. M., 1 Jun 2023, In: Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering. 10, 2, p. 268-280 13 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2022

• PublishedAGRONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF REINTRODUCING HERB- AND LEGUME-RICH MULTISPECIES LEYS INTO ARABLE ROTATIONS: A REVIEW
  Cooledge, E. C., Chadwick, D. R., Smith, L. M. J., Leake, J. R. & Jones, D. L., Jun 2022, In: Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering. 9, 2, p. 245-271
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

2021

• PublishedAddition of base cations increases microbial carbon use efficiency and biomass in acidic soils
  Horn, E. L., Cooledge, E., Jones, D. L., Hoyle, F. C., Brailsford, F. L. & Murphy, D. V., Oct 2021, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 161, 108392.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedReintegration Of Crop-Livestock Systems In Europe : An Overview
  Schut, A. G. T., Cooledge, E., Moraine, M., van de Ven, G. W. J., Jones, D. L. & Chadwick, D., Mar 2021, In: Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering. 8, 1, p. 111-129 18 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2019

• PublishedpH and exchangeable aluminum are major regulators of microbial energy flow and carbon use efficiency in soil microbial communities
  Jones, D. L., Cooledge, E., Hoyle, F., Griffiths, R. & Murphy, D., Nov 2019, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 138, 107584.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2020

• Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (Journal)

  Peer reviewer

  Mar 2020 →

  Activity: Publication peer-review (Peer reviewer)

2018

• Soil Biology and Biochemistry (Journal)

  Peer reviewer for Soil Biology and Biochemistry.

  Oct 2018 →

  Activity: Publication peer-review (Peer reviewer)