Additional Contact Information
Email: rob.brown@bangor.ac.uk
Phone: 01248 382456
Address: 2nd Floor, Environment Centre Wales,
Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW
Qualifications
- PhD: Metabolomic and volatilomic profiling for the assessment of soil carbon cycling and biological quality
2018–2022 - BSc: Environmental Science
2014–2017
Research Interests
Rob Brown is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Biogeochemistry working within the Ecosystems and Envrionment group. He is currently working on the BBSRC funded greenhouse gas removal demonstrator (GGR-D) project examining biochar as a tool for carbon sequestration. This interdisciplinary, multi-institution collaboration aims to address the uncertainties concerning the extent and scope of the deployment of biochar. The focus of his research is on the deployment of biochar to land, in particular the applicability of biochar as a carbon storage to tool in grassland soils; examining the effect of biochar application on soil and plant health, and ecosystem service delivery. Broadly, his research interests include; soil carbon dynamics, exploring biological function particularly through the use of novel methods (metabolomics and volatilomics), soil quality and radioisotope tracing.
Publications
2024
- PublishedAgronomic amendments drive a diversity of real and apparent priming responses within a grassland soil
Brown, R., Reed, E., Chadwick, D., Hill, P. & Jones, D. L., 1 Feb 2024, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 189, 109265.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedPlasticity of microbial substrate carbon use efficiency in response to changes in plant carbon input and soil organic matter status
Brown, R. & Jones, D. L., 1 Jan 2024, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 188, 109230.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedSoil metabolomics - current challenges and future perspectives
Brown, R., Reay, M. K., Centler, F., Chadwick, D., Bull, I. D., McDonald, J., Evershed, R. P. & Jones, D. L., 1 Jun 2024, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 109382.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2023
- PublishedBiochar application to temperate grasslands: challenges and opportunities for delivering multiple ecosystem services
Brown, R., Chadwick, D., Bott, T., West, H., Wilson, P., Hodgins, G., Snape, C. & Jones, D. L., Dec 2023, In: Biochar. 5, 1, 33.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedBioplastic (PHBV) addition to soil alters microbial community structure and negatively affects plant-microbial metabolic functioning in maize
Brown, R. W., Chadwick, D. R., Zang, H., Graf, M., Liu, X., Wang, K., Greenfield, L. M. & Jones, D. L., 5 Jan 2023, In: Journal of Hazardous Materials. 441, 129959.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedEarthworms mediate the influence of polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics on soil bacterial communities
Lu, S., Hao, J., Yang, H., Chen, M., Lian, J., Chen, Y., Brown, R. W., Jones, D. L., Wan, Z., Wang, W., Chang, W. & Wu, D., 20 Dec 2023, In: Science of the Total Environment. 905, 166959.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedField application of biodegradable microplastics has no significant effect on plant and soil health in the short term
Chu, J., Zhou, J., Wang, Y., Jones, D. L., Ge, J., Yang, Y., Brown, R., Zang, H. & Zeng, Z., 1 Jan 2023, In: Environmental Pollution. 316, 120556.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedSeasonal variation is a bigger driver of soil faunal and microbial community composition than exposure to the neonicotinoid acetamiprid within Brassica napus production systems
Potts, J., Brown, R., Jones, D. L. & Cross, P., 1 Sept 2023, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 184, 109088.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedThe long-term uncertainty of biodegradable mulch film residues and associated microplastics pollution on plant-soil health
Zhou, J., Jia, R., Brown, R. W., Yang, Y., Zeng, Z., Jones, D. L. & Zang, H., 15 Jan 2023, In: Journal of Hazardous Materials. 442, 130055.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
2022
- PublishedClimate warming masks the negative effect of microplastics on plant-soil health in a silt loam soil
Nayab, G., Zhou, J., Jia, R., Lv, Y., Yang, Y., Brown, R. W., Zang, H., Jones, D. L. & Zeng, Z., 1 Nov 2022, In: Geoderma. 425, 116083.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedCritical Evaluation of Different Passive Sampler Materials and Approaches for the Recovery of SARS-CoV-2, Faecal-Indicator Viruses and Bacteria from Wastewater
Jones, D. L., Grimsley, J. M. S., Kevill, J. L., Williams, R., Pellett, C., Lambert-Slosarska, K., Singer, A. C., Williams, G. B., Bargiela, R., Brown, R. W., Agency, U. & Farkas, K., 6 Nov 2022, In: Water. 14, 21, 3568.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedField application of pure polyethylene microplastic has no significant short-term effect on soil biological quality and function
Brown, R., Chadwick, D., Thornton, H., Marshall, M., Bei, S., Distaso, M., Bargiela, R., Marsden, K., Clode, P., Murphy, D., Pagella, S. & Jones, D. L., 1 Feb 2022, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 165, 108496.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedNutrient (C, N and P) enrichment induces significant changes in the soil metabolite profile and microbial carbon partitioning
Brown, R. W., Chadwick, D., Bending, G. D., Collins, C. D., Whelton, H. L., Daulton, E., Covington, J. A., Bull, I. D. & Jones, D. L., 1 Sept 2022, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 172, 108779.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedSaltwater intrusion induces shifts in soil microbial diversity and carbon use efficiency in a coastal grassland ecosystem
Brown, R. W., Rhymes, J. M. & Jones, D. L., Jul 2022, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 170, 108700.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2021
- PublishedDependence of thermal desorption method for profiling volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from soil
Brown, R. W., Mayser, J. P., Widdowson, C., Chadwick, D. R. & Jones, D. L., 1 Sept 2021, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 160, 108313.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedUse of metabolomics to quantify changes in soil microbial function in response to fertiliser nitrogen supply and extreme drought
Brown, R. W., Chadwick, D. R., Zang, H. & Jones, D. L., Sept 2021, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 160, 108351.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) allow sensitive differentiation of biological soil quality
Brown, R., Ian D. Bull, Toby Journeaux, Chadwick, D. & Jones, D. L., 1 May 2021, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 156, 108187.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review