Dr Yunyun Zheng
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Soil Science
School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability
Researcher biography
The aim of Allie's research is to improve soil health for sustainable agricultural production and environmental protection. Her research spans the areas of plant-soil-microbe interactions, soil microbiology, nutrients cycling and the recylcing of organic wastes, currently focusing on (i) the development of advanced and novel methodologies for investigation of plant-soil-microbe interactions; (ii) dynamics of nutrients (N, P, K) and carbon in soils including greenhouse gas emissions; and (iii) soil carbon sequestration and persistence.
Publications
Journal Articles
Zheng, Yunyun, Abbott, Lynette K., Bolan, Nanthi, Singh, Pankaj K., Jenkins, Sasha N. and Mickan, Bede S. (2025). Evaluating the potential of digestate-loaded biochar in improving soil biological health and plant nutrition with less greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental Pollution, 377 126431. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126431
Zheng, Yunyun, Abbott, Lynette K., Bolan, Nanthi, Hu, Hangwei, Jenkins, Sasha N. and Mickan, Bede S. (2025). Biochar interacted with organic compounds from digestate in controlling N2O emissions. Journal of Environmental Management, 385 125591, 125591. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125591
Zheng, Yunyun, Jin, Jian, Armstrong, Roger, Wood, Jennifer L., Crawford, Doug M., Franks, Ashley E. and Tang, Caixian (2025). Long-term free-air-CO2-enrichment increases carbon distribution in the stable fraction in the deep layer of non-clay soils. Science of the Total Environment, 970 179003. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179003
Zarezadeh, Somayeh, Zheng, Yunyun, Jenkins, Sasha N., Mercer, George D., Moheimani, Navid R., Singh, Pankaj and Mickan, Bede S. (2025). Sustainable soil management in agriculture under drought stress: Utilising waste-derived organic soil amendments and beneficial impacts on soil bacterial processes. Applied Soil Ecology, 206 105870, 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.105870
Zheng, Yunyun, Bolan, Nanthi, Jenkins, Sasha N. and Mickan, Bede S. (2024). Organic particles and high pH in food waste anaerobic digestate enhanced NH4+ adsorption on wood-derived biochar. Science of the Total Environment, 946 174458, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174458
Weng, Zhe H., Kopittke, Peter M., Schweizer, Steffen, Jin, Jian, Armstrong, Roger, Rose, Michael, Zheng, Yunyun, Franks, Ashley and Tang, Caixian (2024). Shining a light on how soil organic carbon behaves at fine scales under long-term elevated CO2: An 8 year free-air carbon dioxide enrichment study. Environmental Science and Technology, 58 (20), 8724-8735. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c10680
Zheng, Yunyun, Jin, Jian, Wang, Xiaojuan, Kopittke, Peter M., O’Sullivan, James B. and Tang, Caixian (2024). Disentangling the effect of nitrogen supply on the priming of soil organic matter: a critical review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 54 (8), 676-697. doi: 10.1080/10643389.2023.2266312
Zheng, Yunyun, Jin, Jian, Wang, Xiaojuan, Clark, Gary J., Franks, Ashley and Tang, Caixian (2023). Nitrogen addition increases the glucose-induced priming effect of the particulate but not the mineral-associated organic carbon fraction. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 184 109106, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109106
Zheng, Yunyun, Jin, Jian, Wang, Xiaojuan, Clark, Gary J. and Tang, Caixian (2022). Increasing nitrogen availability does not decrease the priming effect on soil organic matter under pulse glucose and single nitrogen addition in woodland topsoil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 172 108767, 108767-172. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108767
Zheng, Yunyun, Wang, Xiaojuan, Jin, Jian, Clark, Gary J and Tang, Caixian (2022). Carbon availability mediates the effect of nitrogen on CO2 release from soils. Soil Security, 6 100041, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.soisec.2022.100041
Hou, Lei (Helen), Gao, Wei, der Bom, Frederik, Weng, Zhe (Han), Doolette, Casey L., Maksimenko, Anton, Hausermann, Daniel, Zheng, Yunyun, Tang, Caixian, Lombi, Enzo and Kopittke, Peter M. (2022). Use of X-ray tomography for examining root architecture in soils. Geoderma, 405 115405, 115405. doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115405
Li, Zhongyi, Wang, Pengshun, Liu, Li, Zheng, Yunyun and Xie, Deti (2021). High negative surface charge increases the acidification risk of purple soil in China. Catena, 196 104819, 104819-196. doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2020.104819
Li, Zhong-yi, Liu, Yuan, Zheng, Yun-yun and Xu, Ren-kou (2015). Zeta potential at the root surfaces of rice characterized by streaming potential measurements. Plant and Soil, 386 (1-2), 237-250. doi: 10.1007/s11104-014-2259-6