Dr Yash Dang

Principal Research Fellow

School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability
Faculty of Science

Overview

Dr Yash Dang is Principal Research Fellow at The University of Queensland possess extensive experience in soil and nutrient management. He is currently leading a national project on low cost carbon stock estimation using proximal and remote sensing. He is also leading the northern grains region in national GRDC projects to identify and manage soil constraints, conservation agriculture, strategic tillage and sustainable land management practices. While his research spans in the areas of crop production, much of his research focuses on soil constraints. He has also coordinated soil carbon and soil quality projects in Queensland cropping soils. Yash has great faith in engagement with the farmers to develop collaborative, participatory research project to address soil health issues. He also has strong interest in proximal and remote sensing to identify constraints at farm and national scales for site-specific soil and nutrient management.

Research Interests

  • Identification and management of soil constraints
    Soil salinity, sodicity, acidity, and alkalinity, elemental toxicities such as boron, chloride and aluminium and compaction are important soil constraints to agricultural sustainability in many soils of Australia. Estimating the severity of soil constraints, and their impact on plant productivity and management is a very complex issue. Several soil properties in the surface and subsoil interact with each other to determine the local environment for root growth at a given time. Rarely do the various soil stresses occur independently. Moreover, variable distribution of soil constraints, both spatially within a paddock, across the landscape and with depth in the soil profile, and the complex interactions that exist among the various physio-chemical constraints, make it difficult to determine which stress is the major limitation to crop production. Grains Research Development Corporation projects are helping growers identify soil constraints using proximal sensing and remote sensing and manage soil constraints through amelioration, crops and cultivars adaptation and/or matching inputs to the realistic potential yield in the presence of soil constraints.
  • Conservation agriculture for sustainable crop production and land management
    No-tillage (NT), stubble retention (SR) and crop rotation component of conservation farming systems offer a wide range of economic, environmental and social advantages compared to conventional tillage (CT) which involves intensive disturbance of soils prior to crop sowing. Hermitage long-term NT- SR experiment initiated in 1968 is the longest continuing trial in Australia. The project quantify the impact of continuous NT-SR and nitrogen on productivity, profitability and soil health.
  • Strategic tillage in no-till farming systems
    Adoption of no-till (NT) has progressed steadily, there are still situations and attitudes that hinder adoption of what are seen as rigid systems. These concerns have been enhanced by the emergence of five major issues in long term NT systems - (i) build-up of soil- and stubble-borne diseases; (ii) build-up of herbicide-resistant weeds; (iii) nutrient stratification in the surface soil; (iv) build-up of soil insect; and (v) environment and health concerns about the effects of herbicides on- and off-site. An occasional strategic tillage (ST) has been used as a means to manage some of the specific issues emerging in NT farming systems. However, growers who practise strict NT systems are concerned that even one-time tillage operation may undo much of the positive effect of NT farming systems on soil conditions. Those promoting ideas of strictly no soil disturbance predict irreparable damage to soil from occasional ST. The industry driven project identify (i) the need for ST in NT farming systems; (ii) strategies for the safe implementation of ST in NT systems, and (iii) the potential risks and rewards of occasional ST on agronomic outcomes, soil health and the environment.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

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Available Projects

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Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Janke, Chelsea K., Martinez, Cristina, Dang, Yash and Bell, Michael J. (2024). Banding nitrogen fertilisers and the implications for enhanced efficiency fertiliser technology. Improving nitrogen use efficiency. (pp. 1-1) Cambridge, United Kingdom: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing. doi: 10.19103/as.2024.0135.12

  • Ulfa, Fathiyya, Orton, Thomas G., Dang, Yash P. and Menzies, Neal W. (2023). Using Peak Season NDVI for Assessing Soil Constraints Under Different Climate Conditions. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Smart and Innovative Agriculture (ICoSIA 2022). (pp. 464-476) Dordrecht: Atlantis Press International BV. doi: 10.2991/978-94-6463-122-7_44

  • Virk, Ahmad Latif, Lin, Bai-Jian, Kan, Zheng-Rong, Qi, Jian-Ying, Dang, Yash Pal, Lal, Rattan, Zhao, Xin and Zhang, Hai-Lin (2022). Simultaneous effects of legume cultivation on carbon and nitrogen accumulation in soil. Advances in agronomy. (pp. 75-110) edited by Donald L. Sparks. Cambridge, MA United States: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/bs.agron.2021.08.002

  • Dang, Yash P., Page, Kathryn L., Dalal, Ram C. and Menzies, Neal W. (2020). No-till farming systems for sustainable agriculture: an overview. No-till farming systems for sustainable agriculture: challenges and opportunities. (pp. 3-20) edited by Yash P. Dang, Ram C. Dalal and Neal W. Menzies. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-46409-7_1

  • Page, Kathryn L., Dang, Yash P., Menzies, Neal W. and Dalal, Ram C. (2020). No-till systems to sequester soil carbon: potential and reality. No-till farming systems for sustainable agriculture: challenges and opportunities. (pp. 301-317) edited by Yash P. Dang, Ram C. Dalal and Neal W. Menzies. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-46409-7_18

  • Wortmann, Charles S. and Dang, Yash P. (2020). Strategic tillage for the improvement of no-till farming systems. No-till farming systems for sustainable agriculture: challenges and opportunities. (pp. 155-171) edited by Yash P. Dang, Ram C. Dalal and Neal W. Menzies. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-46409-7_10

  • Flower, Ken C., Dang, Yash and Ward, Phil (2019). Advances in crop residue management. Australian Agriculture in 2020: From Conservation to Automation. (pp. 137-149) edited by J. Pratley and J. Kirkegaard. Wagga Wagga, NSW Australia: Agronomy Australia.

  • Serafin, Loretta, Dang, Yash, Freebairn, David and Rodriguez, Daniel (2019). Evolution of conservation agriculture in summer rainfall areas. Australian Agriculture in 2020: From Conservation to Automation. (pp. 65-78) edited by J. Pratley and J. Kirkegaard. Wagga Wagga, NSW Australia: Agronomy Australia.

  • Conyers, Mark, Dang, Yash P. and Kirkegaard, John (2019). Strategic tillage within conservation farming. Australian agriculture in 2020: from conservation to automation. (pp. 107-115) edited by J. Pratley and J. Kirkegaard. Wagga Wagga, NSW Australia: Agronomy Australia.

  • Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dang, Yash P. and Schenk, Peer M. (2016). Soil microbial community interactions under tillage systems in Australia. Plant, Soil and Microbes: Volume 1: Implications in Crop Science. (pp. 93-102) edited by Khalid Rehman Hakeem, Mohd Sayeed Akhtar and Siti Nor Akmar Abdullah. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-27455-3_5

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.