Elizabeth has over 25 years applied soil and nutrient management research experience and has engaged with a wide range of research projects connected with the study of nutrient cycling in soils and with the environmental impact of farming systems. At the smallest scale she has applied isotope dilution techniques to investigate mineralisation, immobilisation and nitrification processes. Most recently she has been very active in developing farmer-focussed approaches to measurement of soil health and developing on-farm toolkits for improved soil management. She moved to NIAB and became head of the integrative interdisciplinary farming systems research team in 2017.
Current research projects
Delivering a decision-support framework - soilquality.org.uk
Duration: March 2016-June 2019
Partners: NIAB (lead), project previously held at Newcastle University
Funding: Sustainable Agriculture Research and Innovation Club; administered by NERC (NE/N012860/2)
Soil Biology and Soil Health Research and Knowledge Exchange Partnership
Duration: January 2017- December 2021
Partners: RSK-ADAS, SRUC, Fera, GWCT, ORC, Natural England, University of Lincoln
Funding: AHDB-BBRO (Project 91140002)
Testing soil health indicators in long-term tillage and rotational study.
Duration: January 2018 – December 2019
Partners: Fera
Funding: JC Mann Trust
Long-term soil and agronomic monitoring at Morley; Morley-SAMS
Duration: September 2018 – October 2023
Partners: RSK-ADAS (YEN network), JHI
Funding: The Morley Agricultural Foundation
Recent publications
Stockdale EA, Griffiths BS, Hargreaves PR, Bhogal A, Crotty FV, Watson CA. Conceptual framework underpinning management of soil health – supporting site-specific delivery of sustainable agro-ecosystems. (2019). Food and Energy Security, 8(2). 10.1002/fes3.158
Kidd J, Manning P, Simkin J, Peacock S, Stockdale, EA. Impacts of 120 years of fertiliser addition on a temperate grassland ecosystem. (2017). PLoS ONE. 12. 10.1371/journal.pone.0174632.
Swain EY, Rempelos L, Orr CH, Hall G, Chapman R, Almadni M, Stockdale EA, Kidd J, Leifert C, Cooper JM. Optimising nitrogen use efficiency in wheat and potatoes: interactions between genotypes and agronomic practices. (2014) Euphytica, 199(1-2), 119-136. 10.1007/s10681-014-1181-6
Jones DL, Clode PL, Kilburn MR, Stockdale EA, Murphy DV. Competition between plant and bacterial cells at the microscale regulates the dynamics of nitrogen acquisition in wheat (Triticum aestivum). (2013) New Phytologist, 200(3), 796-807. 10.1111/nph.12405
Murphy DV, Cookson WR, Braimbridge M, Marschner P, Jones DL, Stockdale EA, Abbott LK. Relationships between soil organic matter and the soil microbial biomass (size, functional diversity, and community structure) in crop and pasture systems in a semi-arid environment. (2011) Soil Research, 49(7), 582-594. 10.1071/SR11203
> 60 peer reviewed articles/ book chapters
Full publication list: ORCID