Dr Dafydd Elias

Dafydd is a soil biogeochemist in the Plant-Soil Interactions group at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology with 10 years research experience investigating the effects of land use and climate change on terrestrial ecosystems.

His research covers both natural (tropical forests) and managed ecosystems (arable, grassland, bioenergy crops, oil palm plantations). Using a combination of field surveys, ecosystem manipulations and controlled laboratory experiments this research measures soil C stocks, refines GHG budgets and furthers mechanistic understanding of processes that drive soil nutrient cycling and biosphere-atmosphere GHG exchange. He also has a strong interest in how soil microbial diversity patterns relate to changes in ecosystem processes.

His current research spans a range of projects ranging from exploring microbial-mineralogical interactions that together control soil organic carbon persistence in arable soils to exploring how plant traits drive CH₄ and N₂O emissions from tropical forest trees and soils.

Dafydd is leading the measurement of GHG’s at the Plynlimon ERW-GGR demonstrator field site.