Adjunct Professor Ram Dalal AM
Adjunct Professor

Ram Dalal AM

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Background

Professor Ram Dalal is a Professor in the School of Agriculture and Food Science at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. He has contributed significantly to create awareness in the farming, scientific and general community to the seriousness and insidious nature of soil degradation. As a consequence, restorative practices for sustainable land management were developed and promoted. The international nature of the program was demonstrated by the fact that it was part of the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Program. It is now nationally recognized by policy makers and politicians that land degradation and sustainable land management are the national and international priorities. These projects have made significant contribution towards these issues.

In the last 30 years Dr Dalal has worked towards sustainable land management systems, nitrogen management and soil carbon dynamics. He was the co-leader of soil carbon program in the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting (199-2006), leader of soil carbon changes following land clearing funded by the Australian Greenhouse Office (1998-2002), reviewer for the IPCC Good Practice Guidance (2006) for the land sector, and leader of the National Soil Carbon Program (2012-2015) and Soil Constraints Initiative - Management of Sodic, Magnesic or Dispersive Soils (2015). He has been a consultant and project research contributor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (2004-2009). Recently, he has led a number of projects on estimating soil carbon stock following land use change from native vegetation to croplands, grazing lands, and management of croplands and grazing lands and rangelands (2009-2015) funded by the Department of Environment and Heritage, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Department of Agriculture, Commonwealth of Australia. In addition, he has also been involved in estimating nitrous oxide and methane emissions/ uptake from different ecosystems including agriculture, grassland, plantation forestry and estuarine/ mangrove systems (2000 – 2015). He led the National Soil Carbon Program from 2012 to 2015.

Availability

Adjunct Professor Ram Dalal AM is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Crop and pasture production Environmental Sciences

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Indian Agricultural Research Institute

Research interests

  • Soil and Land Management

    Soil fertility, soil biology, soil chemistry, soil and water conservation, landscape restoration, soil carbon sequestration in cropping, pasture and forestry systems and nitrogen management in cropping and pasture systems, phosphorus and zinc nutrition, soil constraints including sodicity and salinity

  • Crop and Pasture Production

    Sustainable crop rotations, sustainable pasture production systems, crop and pasture rotations, crop and pasture nutrition, fertiliser use and nutrient use efficiency, water use efficiency

  • Greenhouse Gases Mitigation

    Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane emissions and uptake in soil-plant systems, carbon sequestration

Research impacts

My research programs created or contributed significantly to create awareness in the rural, scientific and general community in Queensland, nationwide and internationally to the seriousness and insidious nature of land degradation, carbon loss, sustainability indicators and landscape processes that lead among others, to poor soil and land quality, fertility decline and stream and groundwater quality deterioration. For the last 25 years, landscape restoration, soil organic matter management, carbon sequestration and nitrogen management, and site-specific management for soil and subsoil and other constraints and sustainable crop and pasture rotations and vegetation management have been the central research platforms across cropping, rangelands and forestry ecosystems. The international nature of the program is demonstrated by the fact that it was one of only two sites listed from Australia with the International Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Program. The Fertility Restoration Site of this program was frequently visited by national and international scientists.

Policy makers and politicians now nationally recognize that land degradation, carbon loss and landscape degradation processes lead to deteriorating water quality, and that sustainable land, vegetation and water use, and greenhouse gas mitigation and climate change are the state and national priorities. These projects have been pioneer in Australia in these fields and made significant contribution towards resolving these issues, and provided impetus to initiating similar studies in Australia and worldwide.

Search Professor Ram Dalal AM’s works on UQ eSpace

314 works between 1972 and 2025
All (314) Journal Article (267) Book Chapter (12) Conference Publication (31) Book (3) Other Outputs (1)

81 - 100 of 314 works

2019

Conference Publication

Greenhouse gas implications of leucaena-based pastures. Can we develop an emissions reduction methodology for the beef industry?

Tomkins, Nigel, Harrison, Matthew, McSweeney, Chris S., Denman, Stuart, Charmley, Ed, Lambrides, Christopher J. and Dalal, Ram (2019). Greenhouse gas implications of leucaena-based pastures. Can we develop an emissions reduction methodology for the beef industry?. International Leucaena Conference (ILC), Brisbane, Australia, 29 October - 3 November 2018. Cali, Colombia: International Center for Tropical Agriculture. doi: 10.17138/TGFT(7)267-272

Greenhouse gas implications of leucaena-based pastures. Can we develop an emissions reduction methodology for the beef industry?

2018

Journal Article

Differential gene expression in the model Actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) supports nitrogen mining dependent on the plant carbon to nitrogen ratio

Finn, Damien, Catton, Kerrilyn, Heenan, Marijke, Kopittke, Peter, Ouwerkerk, Diane, Klieve, Athol and Dalal, Ram (2018). Differential gene expression in the model Actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) supports nitrogen mining dependent on the plant carbon to nitrogen ratio. Agriculture, 8 (12) 192, 192. doi: 10.3390/agriculture8120192

Differential gene expression in the model Actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) supports nitrogen mining dependent on the plant carbon to nitrogen ratio

2018

Journal Article

Soil hydro-thermal regimes as affected by different tillage and cropping systems in a rainfed vertisol

Somasundaram, J., Sinha, N. K., Mohanty, M., Chaudhary, R. S., Hati, K. M., Singh, R. K., Biswas, A. K., Shukla, A. K., Dalal, Ram and Patra, A. K. (2018). Soil hydro-thermal regimes as affected by different tillage and cropping systems in a rainfed vertisol. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science, 66 (4), 362-369. doi: 10.5958/0974-0228.2018.00045.2

Soil hydro-thermal regimes as affected by different tillage and cropping systems in a rainfed vertisol

2018

Journal Article

Management of the major chemical soil constraints affecting yields in the grain growing region of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia – a review

Page, K. L., Dalal, R. C., Wehr, J. B., Dang, Y. P., Kopittke, P. M., Kirchhof, G., Fujinuma, R. and Menzies, N. W. (2018). Management of the major chemical soil constraints affecting yields in the grain growing region of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia – a review. Soil Research, 56 (8), 765-779. doi: 10.1071/sr18233

Management of the major chemical soil constraints affecting yields in the grain growing region of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia – a review

2018

Journal Article

Free light fraction carbon and nitrogen, a physically uncomplexed soil organic matter distribution within subtropical grass and leucaena-grass pastures

Conrad, K. A., Dalal, R. C., Allen, D. E., Fujinuma, R. and Menzies, Neal W. (2018). Free light fraction carbon and nitrogen, a physically uncomplexed soil organic matter distribution within subtropical grass and leucaena-grass pastures. Soil Research, 56 (8), 820-828. doi: 10.1071/SR18162

Free light fraction carbon and nitrogen, a physically uncomplexed soil organic matter distribution within subtropical grass and leucaena-grass pastures

2018

Journal Article

Soil organic carbon stabilization: Mapping carbon speciation from intact microaggregates

Hernandez-Soriano, Maria C., Dalal, Ram C., Warren, Frederick J., Wang, Peng, Green, Kathryn, Tobin, Mark J., Menzies, Neal W. and Kopittke, Peter M. (2018). Soil organic carbon stabilization: Mapping carbon speciation from intact microaggregates. Environmental Science and Technology, 52 (21), 12275-12284. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b03095

Soil organic carbon stabilization: Mapping carbon speciation from intact microaggregates

2018

Journal Article

Effect of contrasting tillage and cropping systems on soil aggregation, carbon pools and aggregate-associated carbon in rainfed Vertisols

Somasundaram, J., Chaudhary, R. S., Awanish Kumar, D., Biswas, A. K., Sinha, N. K., Mohanty, M., Hati, K. M., Jha, P., Sankar, M., Patra, A. K., Dalal, R. and Chaudhari, S. K. (2018). Effect of contrasting tillage and cropping systems on soil aggregation, carbon pools and aggregate-associated carbon in rainfed Vertisols. European Journal of Soil Science, 69 (5), 879-891. doi: 10.1111/ejss.12692

Effect of contrasting tillage and cropping systems on soil aggregation, carbon pools and aggregate-associated carbon in rainfed Vertisols

2018

Journal Article

SOC stock changes and greenhouse gas emissions following tropical land use conversions to plantation crops on mineral soils, with a special focus on oil palm and rubber plantations

Shanmugam, Sanjutha, Dalal, Ram C., Joosten, Hans, Raison, R. J. and Joo, Goh Kah (2018). SOC stock changes and greenhouse gas emissions following tropical land use conversions to plantation crops on mineral soils, with a special focus on oil palm and rubber plantations. Agriculture, 8 (9) 133, 133. doi: 10.3390/agriculture8090133

SOC stock changes and greenhouse gas emissions following tropical land use conversions to plantation crops on mineral soils, with a special focus on oil palm and rubber plantations

2018

Journal Article

Soil organic carbon and nitrogen sequestration and turnover in aggregates under subtropical leucaena-grass pastures

Conrad, Kathryn, Dalal, Ram C., Fujinuma, Ryosuke and Menzies, Neal W. (2018). Soil organic carbon and nitrogen sequestration and turnover in aggregates under subtropical leucaena-grass pastures. Soil Research, 56 (6), 632-647. doi: 10.1071/SR18016

Soil organic carbon and nitrogen sequestration and turnover in aggregates under subtropical leucaena-grass pastures

2018

Journal Article

Quantifying the economic impact of soil constraints on Australian agriculture: a case study of wheat

Orton, Thomas G., Mallawaarachchi, Thilak, Pringle, Matthew J., Menzies, Neal W., Dalal, Ram C., Kopittke, Peter M., Searle, Ross, Hochman, Zvi and Dang, Yash P. (2018). Quantifying the economic impact of soil constraints on Australian agriculture: a case study of wheat. Land Degradation & Development, 29 (11), 3866-3875. doi: 10.1002/ldr.3130

Quantifying the economic impact of soil constraints on Australian agriculture: a case study of wheat

2018

Journal Article

Initiation of soil formation in weathered sulfidic Cu-Pb-Zn tailings under subtropical and semi-arid climatic conditions

You, Fang, Dalal, Ram and Huang, Longbin (2018). Initiation of soil formation in weathered sulfidic Cu-Pb-Zn tailings under subtropical and semi-arid climatic conditions. Chemosphere, 204, 318-326. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.04.037

Initiation of soil formation in weathered sulfidic Cu-Pb-Zn tailings under subtropical and semi-arid climatic conditions

2018

Journal Article

Farming systems' productivity and soil organic carbon stocks following fertilisers, no-tillage or legumes on a fertility-depleted soil in a semi-arid subtropical region

Dalal, R. C., Strong, W. M., Weston, E. J., Cooper, J. E., Lehane, K. J. and King, A. J. (2018). Farming systems' productivity and soil organic carbon stocks following fertilisers, no-tillage or legumes on a fertility-depleted soil in a semi-arid subtropical region. Soil Research, 56 (4), 429-440. doi: 10.1071/SR17228

Farming systems' productivity and soil organic carbon stocks following fertilisers, no-tillage or legumes on a fertility-depleted soil in a semi-arid subtropical region

2018

Journal Article

Agricultural management practices impacted carbon and nutrient concentrations in soil aggregates, with minimal influence on aggregate stability and total carbon and nutrient stocks in contrasting soils

Sarker, Jharna Rani, Singh, Bhupinder Pal, Cowie, Annette L., Fang, Yunying, Collins, Damian, Badgery, Warwick and Dalal, Ram C. (2018). Agricultural management practices impacted carbon and nutrient concentrations in soil aggregates, with minimal influence on aggregate stability and total carbon and nutrient stocks in contrasting soils. Soil & Tillage Research, 178, 209-223. doi: 10.1016/j.stlll.2017.12.019

Agricultural management practices impacted carbon and nutrient concentrations in soil aggregates, with minimal influence on aggregate stability and total carbon and nutrient stocks in contrasting soils

2018

Journal Article

Nitrogen-rich microbial products provide new organo-mineral associations for the stabilization of soil organic matter

Kopittke, Peter M., Hernandez-Soriano, Maria C., Dalal, Ram C., Finn, Damien, Menzies, Neal W., Hoeschen, Carmen and Mueller, Carsten W. (2018). Nitrogen-rich microbial products provide new organo-mineral associations for the stabilization of soil organic matter. Global Change Biology, 24 (4), 1762-1770. doi: 10.1111/gcb.14009

Nitrogen-rich microbial products provide new organo-mineral associations for the stabilization of soil organic matter

2018

Journal Article

Soil nitrogen status and turnover in subtropical leucaena-grass pastures as quantified by δ15N natural abundance

Conrad, Kathryn A., Dalal, Ram C., Dalzell, Scott A., Allen, Diane E., Fujinuma, Ryosuke and Menzies, Neal W. (2018). Soil nitrogen status and turnover in subtropical leucaena-grass pastures as quantified by δ15N natural abundance. Geoderma, 313, 126-134. doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.10.029

Soil nitrogen status and turnover in subtropical leucaena-grass pastures as quantified by δ15N natural abundance

2018

Journal Article

Effects of long-term cultivation on phosphorus (P) in five low-input, subtropical Australian soils

Kopittke, Peter M., Dalal, Ram C., Wang, Peng and Menzies, Neal W. (2018). Effects of long-term cultivation on phosphorus (P) in five low-input, subtropical Australian soils. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment, 252, 191-199. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2017.10.018

Effects of long-term cultivation on phosphorus (P) in five low-input, subtropical Australian soils

2018

Conference Publication

Soil carbon storage and climate change

Dalal, Ram C., Kopittke, Peter M. and Menzies, Neal W. (2018). Soil carbon storage and climate change. 21st World Congress of Soil Science, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12-17 August 2018.

Soil carbon storage and climate change

2018

Book Chapter

Cracks and potholes in Vertisols: characteristics, occurrence, and management

Somasundaram, Jayaraman, Lal, Rattan, Sinha, Nishant K., Dalal, Ram, Chitralekha, Adhinarayanan, Chaudhary, Ranjeet S. and Patra, Ashok K. (2018). Cracks and potholes in Vertisols: characteristics, occurrence, and management. Advances in agronomy. (pp. 93-159) edited by Donald Sparks. Cambridge, MA, United States: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/bs.agron.2018.01.001

Cracks and potholes in Vertisols: characteristics, occurrence, and management

2018

Journal Article

Impact of agricultural management practices on the nutrient supply potential of soil organic matter under long-term farming systems

Sarker, Jharna Rani, Singh, Bhupinder Pal, Dougherty, Warwick J., Fang, Yunying, Badgery, Warwick, Hoyle, Frances C., Dalal, Ram C. and Cowie, Annette L. (2018). Impact of agricultural management practices on the nutrient supply potential of soil organic matter under long-term farming systems. Soil and Tillage Research, 175, 71-81. doi: 10.1016/j.still.2017.08.005

Impact of agricultural management practices on the nutrient supply potential of soil organic matter under long-term farming systems

2017

Journal Article

The sequestration and turnover of soil organic carbon in subtropical leucaena-grass pastures

Conrad, Kathryn A., Dalal, Ram C., Dalzell, Scott A., Allen, Diane E. and Menzies, Neal W. (2017). The sequestration and turnover of soil organic carbon in subtropical leucaena-grass pastures. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 248, 38-47. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2017.07.020

The sequestration and turnover of soil organic carbon in subtropical leucaena-grass pastures

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    Role of nitrogen-rich compounds for increasing carbon sequestration in soil
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2028
    Enhancing soil health and climate resilience in the Northern Territory
    Climate-Smart Agriculture Program ¿ Capacity Building
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    Mineral Biosequestration of Organic Carbon in Early Pedogenesis of Tailings
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    Phosphorus in soil used for long-term agriculture: Increasing efficiency and food production
    Soil Science Challenge
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2024
    Improving the drought resilience of Queensland cropping soils by removing barriers to the identification and management of soil constraints
    Future Drought Fund: Drought Resilient Soils and Landscapes Grants
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2023
    Carbon ID: A remote sensing decision support tool to identify the impact of agricultural land management on soil carbon stock
    Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2024
    Breaking critical barriers in soil formation of bauxite residues
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2022
    Economics of ameliorating soil constraints in the Northern Region: Spatial soil constraint diagnoses in the northern region (Project A)
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant

Availability

Adjunct Professor Ram Dalal AM is:
Available for supervision

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Available projects

  • Sustainable and resilient farming systems intensification in the eastern Gangetic plains

    The overall aim of the project is to reduce poverty in the eastern Gangetic plains by improving the productivity, profitability and sustainability of smallholder agriculture.

    The project has four objectives that will lead towards sustainable and resilient farming systems intensification in the EGP:

    1. Understand farmer circumstances with respect to cropping systems, natural and economic resources base, livelihood strategies, and capacity to bear risk and undertake technological innovation.

    2. Develop, with farmers more productive and sustainable technologies that are resilient and profitable for smallholders.

    3. Catalyse, support and evaluate institutional and policy changes that establish an enabling environment for the adoption of high-impact technologies from Objective 2.

    4. Facilitate widespread adoption of sustainable, resilient and more profitable farming systems.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding the mechanisms of general disease suppressiveness in organic fields

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Peter Kopittke

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Ameliorating soil constraints using inorganic and organic amendments under rainfed conditions

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Bernhard Wehr, Dr Yash Dang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Exploring the influence of long-term land use change on the chemical speciation of C, S and P in SOM fractions isolated using density and physical fractionation

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Brigid McKenna, Dr Tim McLaren, Professor Peter Kopittke

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Investigating the Impact of Fungal Activity on Soil Carbon Dynamics - Tracing Carbon Fluxes Across Plant-Fungi-Mineral Networks

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Vijaya Singh

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Ameliorating soil constraints using inorganic and organic amendments under rainfed conditions

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Bernhard Wehr, Dr Yash Dang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Mechanisms driving the persistence of soil organic matter

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Peter Kopittke

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding the mechanisms of general disease suppressiveness in organic fields

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Peter Kopittke

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding the mechanisms of general disease suppressiveness in organic fields

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Peter Kopittke

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Dynamics of Soil Organic Matter: Storage, Composition, and Responses to Land Use Change

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Han Weng, Professor Peter Kopittke

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Dynamics of Soil Organic Matter: Storage, Composition, and Responses to Land Use Change

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Han Weng, Professor Peter Kopittke

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Organic matter decomposition and turnover in rhizobiomes of bauxite residue technosols

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Longbin Huang, Dr Fang You

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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