Dr Han Weng
Lecturer
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
College of Science
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Han is an academic in soil science in the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine. His primary interests and passion in teaching and research are soil processes, more specifically, how we can better manage, conserve, and regenerate our soils in a changing climate for a sustainable future. Previously, he has led research across three states at NSW DPI, La Trobe University (VIC), and The University of Queensland (QLD).Han’s research has global implications for the protection and restoration of soil organic carbon. As direct evidence of how his research impacts on climate change policy making, his first-author papers in Nature Climate Change and Soil Biology & Biochemistry were cited in policy recommendations by the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, Royal Society (UK), PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assist policy makers from 195 countries in developing climate policy in agriculture. This is a rare achievement for his career stage and highlights the potential of his soil carbon research for policy adaptation.
By improving our ability to describe the factors that drive the stabilisation, protection, and persistence of soil organic matter, this will not only enable opportunities for improving management of soils to enable increased capture and stabilisation of organic carbon, but it will also enable us to make better predictions of changes in the soil carbon reservoir itself as a result of global changes in the climate. This is especially important in Australia given the large areas of agricultural land, and the potential to optimise crop rotations, increase retention of crop residues, and improve other land management strategies.
Han’s research aims at understanding the fundamental drivers controlling the persistence of soil organic carbon. His first-author publications feature in Nature Climate Change (IF 28.9), Nature Communications (IF 16.6), and Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (IF 11.8). His achievement also includes one Highly Cited Paper as the first author in Nature Climate Change, which ranks in the top 1% in the field of environmental sciences, and the most downloaded article in 2021 (10,419 times) and the most cited article in 2022 in Global Change Biology Bioenergy.
In addition to his academic excellence, Han’s research has already had considerable impact in the grains industry in Australia. He has established links with key industry partner organizations and government agencies, including the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), CSIRO, Agriculture Victoria and Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QLD DAF). His research brings practical benefits on management practice. He has developed new techniques to fingerprint soil carbon functionality and distribution which can provide important indicators for soil health and productivity under climate extremes. He has been interviewed by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) and featured three times on GRDC Groundcover and one podcast for his synchrotron experiments on soil carbon studies.
Han has fostered and maintained strong international collaboration, including with Technical University of Munich (Germany), Cornell University (USA), the Instituto Nacional de Metrologia (National Institute of Metrology) (Brazil), and Rothamsted Research (UK). His diverse publication record reflects the strong professional network he has established and his ability to work productively with large teams of researchers from academic and government institutions. He continues to collaborate with early mentors, indicative of his ability to maintain strong professional relationships.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 - ongoing | Lecturer | University of Adelaide |
| 2020 - 2023 | GRDC Synchrotron Research Fellow | University of Queensland |
| 2018 - 2020 | Research Fellow | La Trobe University |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of New England | Australia | PhD | |
| University of East Anglia | United Kingdom | Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Kamran, M., Marschner, P., Parveen, A., Truong, T. H. H., & Weng, Z. H. (2026). Wheat Yield Response to Organic Fertilisers Depends on Drought Timing in a Sandy Soil. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, 5(1), 20 pages. |
| 2026 | Fang, Y., Weng, Z., Uddin, S., Tahmasbian, I., Van Zwieten, L., Farrell, M., . . . Tavakkoli, E. (2026). Influence of Organic and Inorganic Amendments on Aggregate Development in a Sodic Dispersive Soil. Soil Use and Management, 42(2), 14 pages. |
| 2026 | Truong, T. H. H., Marschner, P., & Weng, Z. H. (2026). Compost addition promotes microbial nitrogen and phosphorus uptake after rewetting following drought, but not plant growth. Plant and Soil, 20 pages. |
| 2025 | Barnard, M., McKenna, B. A., Dalal, R. C., McGrath, S. P., Weng, Z. H., Wykes, J. L., & Kopittke, P. M. (2025). Sulfur's Long Game: 145 Years of Soil Sulfur Speciation in the World's Oldest Agricultural Experiments. Global Change Biology, 31(3), 15 pages. Scopus11 WoS10 Europe PMC2 |
| 2025 | Barnard, M., Dalal, R. C., Weng, Z. H., Schweizer, S. A., & Kopittke, P. M. (2025). The influence of fine fraction content on storage and retention of soil organic carbon in Vertisols of subtropical Australia. Geoderma, 456, 117269. Scopus5 WoS4 |
| 2025 | Weng, Z. H., & Cowie, A. L. (2025). Estimates vary but credible evidence points to gigaton-scale climate change mitigation potential of biochar. Communications Earth & Environment, 6(1), 9 pages. Scopus13 WoS12 |
| 2025 | van der Bom, F. J. T., Lösel, P. D., Kingston, A. M., Weng, Z. H., Raymond, N. S., Maksimenko, A., . . . Kopittke, P. M. (2025). Synchrotron-based 3D X-ray computed tomography reveals root system architecture: Plastic responses to phosphorus placement. Geoderma, 457(117299), 1-12. Scopus6 WoS5 |
| 2025 | Uddin, S., Rohan, M., Weng, Z. H., Tahmasbian, I., Fang, Y., Hayden, H. L., . . . Tavakkoli, E. (2025). Enhancing Root Proliferation in an Alkaline Dispersive Subsoil: a Comparative Study of Organic and Inorganic Amendments with Different Amelioration Mechanisms. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 25(3), 7381-7396. Scopus3 WoS3 |
| 2025 | Truong, T. H. H., Marschner, P., & Weng, Z. H. (2025). Moderate Rate of Historic Compost Application Effectively Improved Wheat Drought Resilience but not Microbial Responses. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, 4(4), 15 pages. |
| 2024 | Weng, Z. H., Kopittke, P. M., Schweizer, S., Jin, J., Armstrong, R., Rose, M., . . . Tang, C. (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. Scopus8 WoS5 Europe PMC3 |
| 2024 | Hondroudakis, L., Kopittke, P. M., Dalal, R. C., Barnard, M., & Weng, Z. H. (2024). The influence of land use and management on the behaviour and persistence of soil organic carbon in a subtropical Ferralsol. SOIL, 10(2), 451-465. Scopus8 WoS6 |
| 2024 | Schweizer, S. A., Bachelder, J., Hoeschen, C., Weng, Z. H., Kopittke, P. M., Frossard, E., & Wiggenhauser, M. (2024). Preferential Zn and Cd Hotspots in Soil Microarchitecture. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 12(3), 313-319. Scopus9 WoS8 |
| 2024 | Barnard, M., Dalal, R. C., Weng, Z. H., Schweizer, S. A., & Kopittke, P. M. (2024). Physicochemical protection is more important than chemical functional composition in controlling soil organic carbon retention following long-term land-use change. Geoderma, 452, 117098. Scopus12 WoS13 |
| 2024 | Kopittke, P. M., Dalal, R. C., McKenna, B. A., Smith, P., Wang, P., Weng, Z., . . . Menzies, N. W. (2024). Soil is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. SOIL, 10(2), 873-885. |
| 2023 | Luutu, H., Rose, M. T., McIntosh, S., Van Zwieten, L., Weng, H. H., Pocock, M., & Rose, T. J. (2023). Phytotoxicity induced by soil-applied hydrothermally-carbonised waste amendments: effect of reaction temperature, feedstock and soil nutrition. Plant and Soil, 493(1-2), 647-661. Scopus15 WoS12 |
| 2023 | Chen, Y., Du, Z., Weng, Z., Sun, K., Zhang, Y., Liu, Q., . . . Van Zwieten, L. (2023). Formation of soil organic carbon pool is regulated by the structure of dissolved organic matter and microbial carbon pump efficacy: A decadal study comparing different carbon management strategies. Global Change Biology, 29(18), 5445-5459. Scopus150 WoS138 Europe PMC38 |
| 2023 | Yao, B., Zhao, J., Ding, S., Giel, M. C., Zhang, G., Ding, D., . . . Hong, Y. (2023). A novel red-emitting aggregation-induced emission probe for determination of β-glucosidase activity. Biomaterials, 295, 122046-1-122046-11. Scopus24 WoS24 Europe PMC14 |
| 2023 | Wang, Y., Joseph, S., Wang, X., Weng, Z. H., Mitchell, D. R. G., Nancarrow, M., . . . Shang, J. (2023). Inducing Inorganic Carbon Accrual in Subsoil through Biochar Application on Calcareous Topsoil. Environmental Science and Technology, 57(4), 1837-1847. Scopus69 WoS57 Europe PMC26 |
| 2022 | Weng, Z., Lehmann, J., Van Zwieten, L., Joseph, S., Archanjo, B. S., Cowie, B., . . . Kopittke, P. M. (2022). Probing the nature of soil organic matter. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 52(22), 4072-4093. Scopus87 WoS82 |
| 2022 | Weng, Z., Li, G., Sale, P., & Tang, C. (2022). Application of calcium nitrate with phosphorus promotes rhizosphere alkalization in acid subsoil. European Journal of Soil Science, 73(1), 13 pages. Scopus10 WoS10 |
| 2022 | Hou, L., Gao, W., van der Bom, F., Weng, Z., Doolette, C. L., Maksimenko, A., . . . Kopittke, P. M. (2022). Use of X-ray tomography for examining root architecture in soils. Geoderma, 405(article no. 115405), 1-13. Scopus72 WoS48 |
| 2022 | Fang, Y., Van Zwieten, L., Rose, M. T., Vasileiadis, S., Donner, E., Vancov, T., . . . Tavakkoli, E. (2022). Unraveling microbiomes and functions associated with strategic tillage, stubble, and fertilizer management. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 323(107686), 1-14. Scopus21 WoS19 |
| 2022 | Doolette, C. L., Howard, D. L., Afshar, N., Kewish, C. M., Paterson, D. J., Huang, J., . . . Lombi, E. (2022). Tandem Probe Analysis Mode for Synchrotron XFM: Doubling Throughput Capacity. Analytical Chemistry, 94(11), 4584-4593. Scopus12 WoS12 Europe PMC7 |
| 2022 | Fang, Y., Tavakkoli, E., Weng, Z., Collins, D., Harvey, D., Karimian, N., . . . Van Zwieten, L. (2022). Disentangling carbon stabilization in a Calcisol subsoil amended with iron oxyhydroxides: A dual-<sup>13</sup>C isotope approach. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 170, 1-13. Scopus14 WoS11 |
| 2022 | Weng, Z. H., Van Zwieten, L., Tavakkoli, E., Rose, M. T., Singh, B. P., Joseph, S., . . . Cowie, A. (2022). Microspectroscopic visualization of how biochar lifts the soil organic carbon ceiling.. Nat Commun, 13(1), 12 pages. Scopus138 WoS2 Europe PMC35 |
| 2021 | Weng, Z., Butterly, C. R., Sale, P., Li, G., & Tang, C. (2021). Combined nitrate and phosphorus application promotes rhizosphere alkalization and nitrogen uptake by wheat but not canola in acid subsoils. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 21(9), 2995-3006. Scopus6 WoS4 |
| 2021 | Lauricella, D., Weng, Z., Clark, G. J., Butterly, C. R., Li, G., Gazey, C., . . . Tang, C. (2021). Biochars and their feedstocks differ in their short-term effects in ameliorating acid soils grown with aluminium-sensitive wheat. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 21(8), 2805-2816. Scopus17 WoS11 |
| 2021 | Joseph, S., Cowie, A. L., Van Zwieten, L., Bolan, N., Budai, A., Buss, W., . . . Lehmann, J. (2021). How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar. GCB Bioenergy, 13(11), 1731-1764. Scopus884 WoS766 |
| 2021 | Lauricella, D., Butterly, C. R., Weng, Z., Clark, G. J., Sale, P. W. G., Li, G., & Tang, C. (2021). Impact of novel materials on alkalinity movement down acid soil profiles when combined with lime. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 21(1), 52-62. Scopus19 WoS14 |
| 2020 | Weng, Z., Liu, X., Eldridge, S., Wang, H., Rose, T., Rose, M., . . . Van Zwieten, L. (2020). Priming of soil organic carbon induced by sugarcane residues and its biochar control the source of nitrogen for plant uptake: A dual <sup>13</sup>C and <sup>15</sup>N isotope three-source-partitioning study. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 146, 1-9. Scopus54 WoS47 Europe PMC11 |
| 2019 | Weng, Z., Rose, M. T., Tavakkoli, E., Van Zwieten, L., Styles, G., Bennett, W., & Lombi, E. (2019). Assessing plant-available glyphosate in contrasting soils by diffusive gradient in thin-films technique (DGT). Science of the Total Environment, 646, 735-744. Scopus22 WoS18 Europe PMC7 |
| 2019 | Rose, T. J., Schefe, C., Weng, Z., Rose, M. T., van Zwieten, L., Liu, L., & Rose, A. L. (2019). Phosphorus speciation and bioavailability in diverse biochars. Plant and Soil, 443(1-2), 233-244. Scopus35 WoS34 |
| 2019 | Claassens, A., Rose, M. T., Van Zwieten, L., Weng, Z., & Rose, T. J. (2019). Soilborne glyphosate residue thresholds for wheat seedling metabolite profiles and fungal root endophyte colonisation are lower than for biomass production in a sandy soil. Plant and Soil, 438(1-2), 393-404. Scopus2 WoS2 |
| 2018 | Ding, F., Van Zwieten, L., Zhang, W., Weng, Z., Shi, S., Wang, J., & Meng, J. (2018). A meta-analysis and critical evaluation of influencing factors on soil carbon priming following biochar amendment. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 18(4), 1507-1517. Scopus119 WoS106 |
| 2018 | Rose, M. T., Ng, E. L., Weng, Z., Wood, R., Rose, T. J., & Van Zwieten, L. (2018). Minor effects of herbicides on microbial activity in agricultural soils are detected by N-transformation but not enzyme activity assays. European Journal of Soil Biology, 87, 72-79. Scopus22 WoS21 |
| 2018 | Weng, Z., Van Zwieten, L., Singh, B. P., Tavakkoli, E., Kimber, S., Morris, S., . . . Cowie, A. (2018). The accumulation of rhizodeposits in organo-mineral fractions promoted biochar-induced negative priming of native soil organic carbon in Ferralsol. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 118, 91-96. Scopus39 WoS33 Europe PMC10 |
| 2018 | Nguyen, T. T. N., Wallace, H. M., Xu, C. Y., (Van) Zwieten, L., Weng, Z. H., Xu, Z., . . . Bai, S. H. (2018). The effects of short term, long term and reapplication of biochar on soil bacteria. Science of the Total Environment, 636, 142-151. Scopus166 WoS148 Europe PMC59 |
| 2017 | Han Weng, Z., Van Zwieten, L., Singh, B., Tavakkoli, E., Joseph, S., Macdonald, L., . . . Cowie, A. (2017). Biochar built soil carbon over a decade by stabilizing rhizodeposits. Nature Climate Change, 7(5), 371-376. Scopus362 WoS323 |
| 2017 | Archanjo, B. S., Mendoza, M. E., Albu, M., Mitchell, D. R. G., Hagemann, N., Mayrhofer, C., . . . Joseph, S. (2017). Nanoscale analyses of the surface structure and composition of biochars extracted from field trials or after co-composting using advanced analytical electron microscopy. Geoderma, 294, 70-79. Scopus115 WoS106 |
| 2015 | Weng, Z. H., Van Zwieten, L., Singh, B. P., Kimber, S., Morris, S., Cowie, A., & Macdonald, L. M. (2015). Plant-biochar interactions drive the negative priming of soil organic carbon in an annual ryegrass field system. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 90, 111-121. Scopus100 WoS91 |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Kamran, M., Truong, T. H. H., Marschner, P., & Weng, H. (2025). A review of compost and manure effects on soil health, and wheat growth under drought stress. In S. Saud, S. Fahad, & D. Wang (Eds.), Beneficial Elements for Remediation of Heavy Metals in Polluted Soil (pp. 433-490). Elsevier. DOI Scopus3 |
| 2024 | Cowie, A., Azzi, E., Weng, Z., & Woolf, D. (2024). Biochar, greenhouse gas accounting, and climate change mitigation. In J. Lehmann, & S. Joseph (Eds.), Biochar for Environmental Management Science, Technology and Implementation (pp. 759-784). Online: Routledge. DOI Scopus10 |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| - | Weng, H. (n.d.). <b>Estimates vary but credible evidence points to gigaton-scale climate change mitigation potential of biochar</b>_Supplementary information_COMMSENV-24-2669A.docx. DOI |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Weng, Z. H., Dalal, R. C., Reid, B. J., Zhu, Y. -G., McLaren, T. I., McKenna, B. A., . . . Kopittke, P. M. (2025). Changes in carbon functional groups and their in situ microscale distribution under long-term continuous cropping. DOI |
- 2023-2024, Chief Investigator, GRDC, "Variation of Synchrotron Postdoctoral Fellow No. 3: Soil Organic Matter Fractionation Using Intact Soil Cores (UOQ1910-003RTX)", $100,000.
- 2022-2023, Chief Investigator, Universities Australia, Australia-Germany Joint Research Cooperation Scheme, Technical University of Munich, "Resolving the effect of land use change on soil organic matter: How microscale processes contribute to improving soil health and mitigating climate change", $23,000.
- 2022-2023, Chief Investigator, International Synchrotron Access Program (ANSTO), Access to Swiss Light Source, '“Molecular mechanisms of building soil carbon from the oldest, continuous, scientific experiments in the world, Rothamsted Research”', $3,500
- Since 2020, Chief Investigator, Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO), in-kind beamtime, $1,000,000
- Since 2020, Partner Investigator, Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO), in-kind beamtime, $1,100,000
- 2020-2021, Chief Investigator, Australian Synchrotron Access Scheme (ANSTO), $15,190 over 100-d beamtime.
Han coordinates the third year elective Soil and Water: Management and Conservation III and lectures the majority of this course. During this course, together we will learn the fundamentals and more importantly how to better manage and protect the two vital natural capitals as a source of life and survival: Soil and Water. Han also lectures on the first-year soil course: Soils and Landscapes I, the second-year course: Soil and Water Resources II, and a third-year course: Soil and Plant Nutrition.
Han has been a Graduate Research Coordinator since 2026. He previously served as an Honours Director between 2025 and 2026.
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Principal Supervisor | Innovative Soil Technologies to Foster Resilience and Climate Smart Crop Production in Australia | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Yanchun Li |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Sustainable management for soil carbon storage and soil health in agave production | Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Victoria Oakman |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Sustainable management for soil carbon storage and soil health in agave production | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Victoria Oakman |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Development of innovative nano-structured amendments for improving soil structural stability in alkaline dispersive soils | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Ms Zeinab Ghasemzadeh |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Effect of organic amendments on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and soil nutrient cycling under drought conditions | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Muhammad Kamran |
| 2024 | Co-Supervisor | The effect of plant litter on wetland nutrient cycling under drying and rewetting cycles | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Rui Yan |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Rooting for Resillience: Adapting root architecture for sustainable agricultural management | Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Bartholomew Poyser |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Assessing the impact of mycorrhizal fungi on legume crop nutritional quality | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Yan Wen |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Rooting for Resillience: Adapting root architecture for sustainable agricultural management | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Bartholomew Poyser |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Development of innovative nano-structured amendments for improving soil structural stability in alkaline dispersive soils | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Ms Zeinab Ghasemzadeh |
| 2024 | Co-Supervisor | The effect of plant litter on wetland nutrient cycling under drying and rewetting cycles | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Rui Yan |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Assessing the impact of mycorrhizal fungi on legume crop nutritional quality | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Yan Wen |
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 - 2026 | Principal Supervisor | Amelioration strategies to improve wheat drought resilience in an Australian sandy soil | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Muhammad Kamran |
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