My interests are in the management of nutrients in livestock manures, other organic resources and fertilisers to optimise nutrient utilisation whilst minimising impacts on water and air quality. This includes; quantifying and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the risk of transfers of pollutants to watercourses, and understanding the secondary impacts of mitigating diffuse agricultural pollution.

Recent research includes exploring the balance between the societal use of agriplastics and their potential impacts on soil and crop health; I co-lead the GCRF-funded project: Do agricultural microplastics undermine food security and sustainable development in developing countries.

As well as publishing refereed scientific papers, I also contribute to policy and practice.

Current projects include:

I am PI of:

• Defra funded project: Evaluating the agronomic and environmental impacts of slurry and digestate separation (RDE 372) 
• Co-PI of NERC GCRF project: Do agricultural microplastics undermine food security and sustainable development in developing countries (NE/V005871/1) 
• BBSRC Global Challenge Research Fund project: Sustainable futures for the Costa Rica dairy sector: optimising environmental and economic outcomes – SusCoRiDa http://suscorida.bangor.ac.uk/index.php.en
• NERC project: Grazing behaviour, urine composition and soil properties are key drivers of nitrous oxide emissions from livestock urine in the uplands (Uplands-N₂O). (With Rothamsted Research - North Wyke, and Leicester, Swansea and Texas A&M Universities). http://uplands-n2o.bangor.ac.uk/

I am Co-I of:

• NERC funded Real-Time Digital Water-Based Systems (RED-ALERT) Centre for Doctoral Training 
• NERC and Defra funded project: Quantifying the combined nutrient enrichment, pathogenic, and ecotoxicological impacts of livestock farming on UK rivers (QUANTUM) (NE/X016080/1) 
• UKRI Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrator: Greenhouse Gas Removal by Accelerated Peat Formation (BB/V011561/1) 
• UKRI Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrator: Biochar Demonstrator Addressing Key Deployment Barriers for Carbon Sequestration (BB/V011596/1) 
• Defra Funded project: Investigating the Feasibility of Slurry Acidification in the United Kingdom through Field Trials
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Horizon2020 ETN project: New bio-based fertilisers from organic waste upcycling (FertiCycle) 
• BBSRC SARIC project: Breaking the Barriers to Soil Testing on Pastures (Breaking-STEP)
• NERC Soil Security project: Securing long-term ecosystem function in lowland organic soils (SEFLOS)
• BBSRC SARIC project: Real-time in situ sensing of soil nitrogen status to promote enhanced nitrogen use efficiency in agricultural systems
• BBSRC (Newton Funded) UK-China Virtual Joint Centre on Agricultural Nitrogen (CINAg)
• RDP Welsh Government project: Climate Smart Agriculture in Wales (CSA Wales)

Recent completed projects include:

• PI - of Defra / Devolved Administrations funded >£6.5M project: Improving the Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory – Nitrous Oxide (InveN₂Ory). www.ghgplatform.org.uk
• Work Package Leader, Diffuse Water Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation, of the Welsh Government funded project: Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. (Led by CEH Bangor). https://gmep.wales/
• Bangor University lead of Defra Sustainable Intensification Platform Project 1 – Farm-scale interventions at Henfaes Research Centre (Led by NIAB). http://www.siplatform.org.uk/
•  Bangor University lead of Defra Sustainable Intensification Platform Project 2 – Collaborative interventions in the Conwy Catchment (led by Exeter University). http://www.siplatform.org.uk/

Current PhD students include:

• Emma Withers (Funded by Envision; Extreme weather events exacerbate nitrous oxide emissions from soil (Extreme-N₂O). Dave Chadwick, Davey Jones (with Dr Laura Cardenas, RRes and Alsitair Manning (MetOffice).

• Shidi Ba (Funded by China Scholarship Council). Developing a manure nutrient recommendation tool for China. Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor University supervisors) with Ma Lin and Zhaohai Bai (supervisors from China Academy of Sciences)

• Siyang Ren (self funded). Material Flow Analysis of Microplastics in Chinese Agriculture. Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor University supervisors) with Kai Wang (supervisor from China Agricultural University)

• Jinhua Yin (Funded by China Scholarship Council). Effects of nitrogen forms on sulphur cycling. Roland Bol, Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor University supervisors) with Wu Di (supervisor from China Agricultural University)

• Martine Graf (funded by Bangor University). The effect, fate, and legacy of agricultural mulch film use on the agroecosystem. Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor Univ supervisors).

• Marya Fareed (self financed). The fate of microplastics in biosolids in agroecosystems. Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor Univ supervisors).

• Jinrui Zhang (China Scholarship Council funded). Factors affecting movement of micro-plastcs and nano-plastics through soils. Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor Univ supervisors), Kai Wang (China Agriculture University supervisor).

• Jingchen Li (China Scholarship Council funded). Understanding the effects of plants on rhizosphere denitrification. Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor Univ supervisors), Wu Di (Sheyang University supervisor).

• Yashi Jain (NERC REDALERT CDT funded). Factors controlling microplastic-pathogen interactions in watercourses. Kara Marsden, Richard Cross (UKCEH), Davey Jones and Dave Chadwick supervisors.

Recent PhD students include:

• Karina Marsden (Bangor University funded, Bangor University, with Prof. Davey Jones, 2016 completion). Spatial distribution of nitrogen transformations (and losses) in the urine patch environment.

• Saufi Bastami (Funded by Malaysian Government, Bangor University, with Prof. Davey Jones, 2016 completion). Reducing methane emissions from slurry stores by modifying the microbial environment.

• Guillermo Guardia Vazquez (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, with Prof Antonio Vallejo. 2017 completion). Strategies to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas and Nitric Oxide Emissions in Rainfed and Irrigated Agro-Ecosystems.

• Yuhong Li (Funded by Bangor-China Scholarship Council Scheme, Bangor University, with Prof Davey Jones. 2017 completion). The fate of nitrogen and phosphorus in separated slurry and digestate.

• Ma Yan (Funded by Bangor-China Scholarship Council Scheme, Bangor University, with Prof Davey Jones, Dr Laura Cardenas. 2020 completion). The use of biological nitrification inhibitors to affect N cycling and losses from agricultural soils.

• John Langley (Funded by Defra project). Effects of slurry and digestate acidification on soil quality and function, with Prof. Davey Jones, Bangor Univ, and Prof Tom Misselbrook, Rothamsted Research. 2022 completion)

• Aude Mancia (Funded by the Walsh Fellowship Programme, TEAGASC, Ireland, with Dr Dominika Krol). Disaggregated ovine emission factors associated with dung and urine deposition in upland and lowland production systems. Dave Chadwick, Dominika Krol (TEAGASC) and Bob Rees (SRUC). 2023 completion.

• Hollie Riddell (Funded by the Sir Williams Roberts Centre (Bangor Univ, with Prysor Williams); Environmental Fooptrinting of Upland Lamb Production. Dave Chadwick and David Styles (Bangor University) and Bob Rees (SRUC) as co-supervisors. 2023 completion.

• Louise McNicol (Funded by KESS and Hybu Cig Cymru; Strategies to reach zero carbon sheep and beef production on Welsh farms. Prysor Williams and David Styles (Univ of Limerick) and Bob Rees (SRUC) as co-supervisors. 2024 completion.

• Emily Cooledge (Funded by SARIC, with Davey Jones). The agronomic and environmental benefits of grazing multispecies 'herbal' leys on lowland sheep production. 2024 completion.

• Danielle Hunt (Funded by NERC STARS Industrial Programme, with Prof Davey Jones, Dr. Laura Cardenas and Prof Roland Bol). On the pee! A mechanistic understanding of nitrogen and carbon cycling in the urine patch. Welsh Government as CASE partner. 2025 competion.

• Yusra Zireeni (Funded by Marie Curie International Training Network, FertiCycle; The role of sulphur in nutrient cycling following application of upcycled organic resources to land. Dave Chadwick and Davey Jones (Bangor University supervisors). 2025 completion.

• Martin Samphire (Self Funded). Can biodegradable plastic film mulch improve the agronomic and environmental performance of organic horticulture? Davey Jones and Dave Chadwick (Bangor University supervisors). 2025 completion.

• Gupeng Li (Self Funded). Assessing the impact of heavy metals in agricultural plastic mulch film on plant and soil health. Davey Jones and David Chadwick (Bangor University supervisors). 2025 completion.

Dave Chadwick is Professor of Sustainable Land Use Systems in the School of Natural Sciences. His interests are in optimising nutrient management and reducing diffuse pollution in different agricultural systems, both in the UK and overseas. He joined Bangor University in 2012, after working at the North Wyke Research Institute in Devon for 18 years.

Environment Centre Wales,

School of Natural Sciences,

Bangor University,

Bangor,

LL57 2UW,

UK.

email: d.chadwick@bangor.ac.uk

Tel: 01248 383569

NERC Uplands-N2O project: http://uplands-n2o.bangor.ac.uk/

STARS Centre for Doctoral Training: http://www.starsoil.org.uk/

Sustainable Futures for the Costa Rica Dairy Sector (SusCoRiDa): http://suscorida.bangor.ac.uk/index.php.en

UK-China Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network (SAIN): http://www.sainonline.org/English.html