Dr Alwyn Williams

Senior Lecturer in Agronomy

School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability
Faculty of Science
alwyn.williams@uq.edu.au
+61 7 54601 617

Overview

My research focusses on soil health in cropping and pasture systems, specialising in soil carbon and soil organic matter dynamics, microbial ecology, and plant-soil interactions. I am interested in how agronomic interventions impact soil health and in developing methods to reverse soil fertility decline and build healthier, more productive soils. This includes understanding the impacts of tillage, cover cropping, crop rotational diversity, nutrient management, and organic amendments on soil functional processes and crop development and productivity.

I have extensive experience in designing and analyzing field and glasshouse experiments and implementing advanced statistical models using R. I have excellent verbal and written communication skills, maintain positive relationships with collaborators both nationally and internationally, and publish manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy of Forestry, University of Canterbury
  • Masters (Coursework) of Forest Science, Imperial College London
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Biology, Imperial College London

Publications

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Supervision

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Available Projects

  • A PhD project is available with The University of Queensland and the Northern Australia Crop Research Alliance (NACRA) as part of the CRC for Developing Northern Australia. The PhD would spend significant time in Kununurra, WA, working with NACRA, WA DPIRD, and local growers to conduct cropping systems research. Potential avenues of PhD research include improving nitrogen management, investigating the feasibility of cover cropping, and exploring cropping system effects on soil health. Major crops in the systems include cotton, maize, and grain legumes. The student will need to successfully obtain a UQ Graduate School Scholarship, and a stipend top-up will also be provided through the project grant. Potential applicants will require either an Honours or Masters level qualification with competitive GPA to attract a UQ Scholarship. Please contact Alwyn Williams (alwyn.williams@uq.edu.au) for more information.

  • Soil health in Australian cropping systems is declining, undermining long-term production potential. Ongoing research opportunities are available to investigate soil health-related issues, ranging from soil fertility and soil organic matter turnover dynamics, soil carbon, novel cropping practices (including methods of ecological intensification, e.g., cover cropping, intercropping, and increasing crop rotational diversity), soil-crop nutrient management (including impacts of contrasting fertiliser strategies as well as use of organic amendments), and analysis of soil biota and plant-soil interactions. Students with a strong GPA are welcome to contact Alwyn to discuss project opportunities.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Williams, Alwyn , Dalal, Ram and Hedlund, Katarina (2022). Decline in soil fertility and biological diversity. Soil constraints on crop production. (pp. 267-292) edited by Yash Dang, Neal Menzies and Ram Dalal. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

  • Williams, Alwyn, van der Bom, Frederik and Young, Anthony J. (2020). Resilient and dynamic soil biology. No-till farming systems for sustainable agriculture: challenges and opportunities. (pp. 251-266) 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_15

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.

  • A PhD project is available with The University of Queensland and the Northern Australia Crop Research Alliance (NACRA) as part of the CRC for Developing Northern Australia. The PhD would spend significant time in Kununurra, WA, working with NACRA, WA DPIRD, and local growers to conduct cropping systems research. Potential avenues of PhD research include improving nitrogen management, investigating the feasibility of cover cropping, and exploring cropping system effects on soil health. Major crops in the systems include cotton, maize, and grain legumes. The student will need to successfully obtain a UQ Graduate School Scholarship, and a stipend top-up will also be provided through the project grant. Potential applicants will require either an Honours or Masters level qualification with competitive GPA to attract a UQ Scholarship. Please contact Alwyn Williams (alwyn.williams@uq.edu.au) for more information.

  • Soil health in Australian cropping systems is declining, undermining long-term production potential. Ongoing research opportunities are available to investigate soil health-related issues, ranging from soil fertility and soil organic matter turnover dynamics, soil carbon, novel cropping practices (including methods of ecological intensification, e.g., cover cropping, intercropping, and increasing crop rotational diversity), soil-crop nutrient management (including impacts of contrasting fertiliser strategies as well as use of organic amendments), and analysis of soil biota and plant-soil interactions. Students with a strong GPA are welcome to contact Alwyn to discuss project opportunities.