Martin Blackwell

Martin is a soil biogeochemist with a background in phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) cycling. His work focuses on P dynamics in grassland soils and the development of organic P analysis techniques. He is a council member of the British Society of Soil Science and chairs the Southwest England Soils Discussion Group. His interests include phosphorus research in soils and water, especially the role of organic P and its analysis using 31P-NMR and cycling using δ18O-PO4 techniques; effects of soil drying and rewetting on nutrient cycling in soils and losses to surface waters; mitigation of diffuse pollution from agriculture, especially the role and management of buffer strips; nitrogen cycling in fresh and intertidal wetland systems and development of functional assessment procedures for wetland assessment; improving phosphorus use efficiency in agriculture; Ecosystem Services tools for grassland and arable systems; and catchment scale projects for the mitigation of diffuse agricultural pollution and improvement of surface water quality. His current and developing areas of work include novel fertilisers for improving yields and nutritional quality of crops; development of Ecosystem Services tools for grassland and arable systems; determination of better fertiliser recommendations, especially for phosphorus; and improving phosphorus use efficiency and recycling in agriculture.