Contact Dr Christopher McCloskey
- Email: C.McCloskey@cranfield.ac.uk
- ORCID
Areas of expertise
- Soil
Background
Dr Christopher McCloskey completed his PhD at Cranfield in 2021, investigating plant-driven turnover of soil carbon. Following this he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Cranfield. This included work on how soil profiles can be created from construction by-products to support the creation of biodiverse calcareous grassland habitats.
In 2023 Chris started a 75th Anniversary Research Fellowship to investigate interactions between plant roots and soil properties and processes. This project aims to bridge the gap between lab-based research and real-world field conditions to (1) explore how root traits affect soil C stability by regulating soil properties; (2) identify and trial crops traits which may promote soil C storage; and (3) develop ways to predict how plant-induced soil environment changes affect C stocks.
Research opportunities
• Soil-plant interactions
• Soil carbon dynamic
• Strategies to increase soil carbon sequestration and storage, such as enhanced silicate weathering
• The role of soils in habitat restoration
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Girkin NT, Burgess PJ, Cole L, Cooper HV, Honorio Coronado E, .... (2023). The three-peat challenge: business as usual, responsible agriculture, and conservation and restoration as management trajectories in global peatlands. Carbon Management, 14(1)
- Cimpoiasu MO, Dowdeswell‐Downey E, Evans DL, McCloskey CS, Rose LS, .... (2021). Contributions and future priorities for soil science: Comparing perspectives from scientists and stakeholders. European Journal of Soil Science, 72(6)
- McCloskey CS, Otten W, Paterson E & Kirk GJD. (2021). On allowing for transient variation in end‐member
δ13C values in partitioning soilC fluxes from net ecosystem respiration. European Journal of Soil Science, 72(6) - Haygarth PM, Lawrenson O, Mezeli M, Sayer EJ, McCloskey CS, .... (2021). On pedagogy of a Soil Science Centre for Doctoral Training. European Journal of Soil Science, 72(6)
- McCloskey CS, Otten W, Paterson E, Ingram B & Kirk GJD. (2021). A field system for measuring plant and soil carbon fluxes using stable isotope methods. European Journal of Soil Science, 72(6)