Griffith University

Senior Lecturer, Griffith School of Environment

Contact Details for Associate Professor Chengrong Chen

Research Expertise

• Soil ecology –interactions of soil, plant, microbe and mesofauna.
• Biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems.
• Assessment of impacts of global climate change on the biogeochemical processes and the belowground microbial diversity using advanced isotopic, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and PCR-based molecular techniques.
• Land resource management, mine rehabilitation, restoration of degraded ecosystems and agricultural disposal of recycled organics.

Current  Teaching areas:

• Land degradation and catchment management

Selected publications

• He Y, Chen CR, Xu Zhihong, Williams David and Xu Jianming 2009 Assessing management impacts on soil organic matter quality in subtropical Australian forests using physical and chemical fractionation as well as 13C NMR spectroscopy. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41, 640-650.
• Xu ZH, Chen CR, He JZ and Liu JX 2009 Trends and challenges in soil research 2009: linking global climate change to local long-term forest productivity. Journal of Soils and sediments 9, 83-88.
• Wei LL, Chen CR, ZH Xu 2009 The effect of low-molecular weight organic acids and inorganic phosphorus concentration on the determination of soil phosphorus by the molybdenum blue reaction. Biology and Fertility of Soils 45, 775-779.
• Dou Z, Ramberg CF, Toth JD, Wang Y, Sharpley AN, Boyd S, Chen CR, Williams D, Xu ZH 2009 Phosphorus speciation and sorption-desorption characteristics in heavily manured soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 73, 93-101.
• Ge Yuan, Chen CR, Xu ZH, Eldridge SM, Chan KY, Yan H and He ZJ 2009 Carbon/nitrogen ratio as a major factor for predicting the effects of organic wastes on soil bacterial communities assessed by DNA-based molecular techniques. Environmental Science and Pollution Research (in press).
• He Ji-Zheng, Ge Yuan, Xu Zhihong and CR Chen 2009 Linking soil bacterial diversity to ecosystem functions. Journal of Soils and Sediments (in press).
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Xu ZH 2008 Impacts of grassland afforestation on soil phosphorus dynamics and associated microbial processes: a review. Forest Ecology and Management 255, 396-409.
• Huang ZQ, Xu ZH, Chen CR, Boyd S 2008. Changes in soil carbon during the establishment of a hardwood plantation in subtropical Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 254, 46-55.
• Xu ZH, Ward S, Chen CR, Blumfield T, Prasolova NV and Liu JX 2008 Soil carbon and nutrient pools, microbial properties and gross nitrogen transformations in adjacent natural forest and hoop pine plantations of subtropical Australia. Journal of Soils and Sediments 8, 99-105.
• Campbell CD, Cameron CM, Bastias BA, Chen CR and Cairney JWC 2008. Long term repeated burning in a wet scerophyll forest reduces fungal and bacterial biomass and responses to carbon substrates. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40, 2246-2252.
• Huang ZQ, Xu ZH, Chen CR, Boyd S 2008 Effects of mulching on labile soil organic matter pools, microbial community functional diversity and nitrogen transformations in two hardwood plantations of subtropical Australia. Applied Soil Ecology 40, 229-239.
• Eldridge SM, Chan KY, Xu ZH, Chen CR and Barchia I 2008. Plant available nitrogen supply from granulated biosolids: implication for land application guidelines. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 46 423-436.
• He Yan, Xu ZH, Chen CR, Burton J, Qi Ma, Ge Y, JM Xu 2008 Light fraction and macroaggregate associated organic matters as early indicators for management-induced changes of soil in adjacent native and plantation forests of subtropical Australia.  Geoderma 147, 116-125.
• He Ji-Zheng, Zheng Yong, Chen CR, He Yuan-Qiu, Zhang Li-Mei 2008 Microbial composition and diversity of an upland red soil under long-term fertilization treatments as revealed by culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches.  Journal of Soils and Sediments 8, 349-358.
• Chen CR and Xu ZH 2008 Analysis and behaviour of soluble organic nitrogen in forest soils. Journal of Soils and Sediments 8, 363-378.
• Huang Z, Xu ZH, Blumfield TJ, Chen CR, Bob K 2008. Soil nitrogen mineralization and fate of (15NH4)2 SO4 in field-induced soil in a hardwood plantation of subtropical Australia: the effects of mulching. Journal of Soil and Sediments 8, 389-397.
• Burton J, Chen CR, Xu ZH, Ghadiri H 2007. Gross nitrogen transformations in adjacent native and plantation forests of subtropical Australia. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39, 426-433.
• Burton J, Chen CR, Xu ZH, Ghadiri H 2007. Soluble organic nitrogen pools in adjacent native and plantation forests of subtropical Australia. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39, 2723-2734.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Xu ZH, Davis MR and Sherlock RR 2006 Root, rhizosphere and root-free soil respiration under ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don). European Journal of Soil Science 57, 58-66.
• Chen CR, Xu ZH 2006 On the nature and ecological functions of soil soluble organic nitrogen (SON) in forest ecosystems. Journal of Soil and Sediment 6, 63-66.
• Xu ZH, Chen CR 2006 Fingerprinting global climate change and forest management within rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling processes.  Environmental Science and Pollution Research 13, 293-298.
• Chen CR, Xu ZH 2005 Soil carbon and nitrogen pools and microbial properties in a 6-year old slash pine plantation in southeast Queensland: impacts of residue management. Forest and Ecology and Management 206, 237-247.
• Chen CR, Xu ZH, Keay P and Zhang SL 2005 Total soluble nitrogen as determined by persulfate oxidation and high temperature catalytic oxidation. Australian Journal of Soil Research 43, 515-523.
• Chen CR, Xu ZH, Zhang SL and Keay P 2005 Soluble organic nitrogen pools in forest soils of subtropical Australia. Plant and Soil 277,285-297.
• Blumfield T, Xu ZH and Chen CR 2005 Soil compaction and mineral nitrogen dynamics during hoop pine plantation establishment. Forest Ecology and Management 204, 129-135.
• Turner BJ, Mahieu N, Condron LM and Chen CR 2005 Quantification and bioavailability of scyllo-inositol hexakisphosphate in pasture soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37, 2155-2158.
• Chen CR, Xu ZH, Boyd S, Zhang SL 2005 Chemical nature of soil phosphorus in adjacent natural and plantation forests of subtropical Australia. The International Forestry Review 7, p235.
• Chen CR, Xu, ZH, Mathers NJ 2004 Soil carbon pools in adjacent natural and plantation forests of subtropical Australia. Soil Science Society of America Journal 68, 282-291.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Turner BL, Mahieu N, Davis MR, Xu ZH and Sherlock RR 2004 Soil organic phosphorus mineralization under pasture and pine determined by NaOH-EDTA extraction and solution 31P NMR spectroscopy. Australian Journal of Soil research 42, 189-196.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Davis MR and Sherlock RR 2004 Effects of plant species on soil microbial biomass and phosphatase enzyme activity. Biology and Fertility of Soils 40, 313-322.
• Chen CR, Sinaj S, Condron LM, Frossard E, Sherlock RR and Davis MR 2003. Characterization of phosphorus availability in New Zealand grassland soils.  Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystem 65, 89-100.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Davis MR and Sherlock RR 2003 Seasonal dynamics of soil phosphorus and associated microbial properties under adjacent grassland and forest in New Zealand. Forest Ecology and Management 177, 539-557.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Sinaj S, Davis MR and Sherlock RR 2003. Effects of plant species on phosphorus availability in a range of grassland soils. Plant and Soil 256, 115-130.
• Chen CR, Xu ZH, Blumfield T and Hughes JM 2003 Soil microbial biomass during the early establishment of hoop pine plantation: seasonal variation and impacts of site preparation. Forest Ecology and Management 186, 213-225.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Davis MR and Sherlock RR 2002. Phosphorus dynamics in the rhizosphere of perennial ryegrass and radiata pine.  Soil Biochemistry and Biology 34, 487-499.
• Chen CR, Xu ZH and Hughes JM 2002 Effects of nitrogen fertilization on soil nitrogen and microbial properties in a hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) plantation in southeast Queensland, Australia. Biology and Fertility of Soils 36, 276-283.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Davis MR and Sherlock RR 2001. Effects of land-use change from grassland to forest on sulfur availability and arylsulphatase activity in a New Zealand grassland soil.  Australian Journal of Soil Research 39, 749-757.
• Chen CR, Condron LM, Davis MR and Sherlock RR 2000 Effects of afforestation on phosphorus dynamics and biological properties in a New Zealand grassland soil.  Plant and Soil 200, 151-163.