AgroClimatology

Matt Ball
Agroecology research, in the context of climate change.
matthewwball(at)btinternet.com
@AgroClimatology

Bio

I am currently an MSc Soil Science student at the University of Alberta. I hold a primary focus on soil biogeochemistry, specifically agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. My research primarily involves working with both gas flux data and ecosystem/crop models to inform the sustainable management of agroecosystems.

Research Interests

Improving understandings of greenhouse gas emissions from agroecosystems, alongside climate change impacts on agriculture itself. Primarily focused on nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from perennial crops in the context of varying agricultural management techniques - notably, the application of differing nitrogen fertilisers and inhibitors. Alongside, evaluation of the standalone impacts of such management techniques - mainly focusing upon crop yield and soil health. All appreciated within the overarching context of a warming climate, with projected climate change impacts on varying soil types and crops also being of notable interest.


Numerical climate modelling in R, Matlab and Python on global to local scales. Working with GCMs and RCMs where appropriate. Working primarily with downscaled CMIP / PRISM data and evaluating climate conditions following SSPs. Primarily applied to determining key future agricultural factors - namely, mean temperature and precipitation change - on regional to national scales. With modelled projections of said climate variables serving as key inputs in crop and ecosystem modelling, such as DSSAT and DNDC models.

Journal Articles

Short Form Written Pieces

Presentations

September, 2023

August, 2022 - Poster link

July, 2022 - Video link

October, 2021 - Poster link (filed under Session 2, Poster 1)

Research photos

A short collection of photos illustrating my past research, from both the field and the lab.