Timothy Cavagnaro

Professor Timothy Cavagnaro

Professor

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Tim Cavagnaro is a Professor in Soil Ecology in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide. He is also Deputy Head of School (Research).

Tim's research is guided by the question: How do we manage soil ecological processes to achieve agricultural and environmental sustainability in a time of significant environmental change? This includes work in two main areas: 1) Enhancing the capacity of plants to acquire nutrients via plant-microbe interactions, with an emphasis on achieving food security; and 2) Managing plant-based systems to mitigate and adapt to environmental change (soil carbon sequestration in particular). Tim's group develops and uses cutting edge techniques from across disciplines, and span scales from the molecular to landscape. Working across the science-policy interface is an important theme in his research.

  • Appointments

    Date Position Institution name
    2015 - ongoing Associate Professor and Future Fellow The University of Adelaide
    2014 - 2015 Senior Lecturer and Future Fellow University of Adelaide
    2006 - 2014 Senior Lecturer and Future Fellow Monash University
    2003 - 2006 Project Scientist University of California, Davis
    2001 - 2003 ARC Research Associate University of Adelaide
  • Education

    Date Institution name Country Title
    2007 - 2009 Monash University Australia Grad. Cert. High. Ed
    1998 - 2001 The University of Adelaide Australia PhD
    1994 - 1997 The University of Adelaide Australia B Ag Sc (Hons)

Tim has won grants (as Lead- or Co- Chief-Investigator) a from a diversity of sources. Recent highlights include:

ARC - Discovery Projects: What are the carbon costs for plants to take up nutrients and water (2019-2021)

Wine Australia: Undervine cover cropping for healthy and productive soils (2018-2021)

The Goyder Institute: Assessing South Australian carbon offset supply and policy for co-beneficial offsets (2017-2018)

GRDC and other sources: Accelerating wheat genetic gain by establishing a high-throughput spike phenotyping platform (2018-2020)

Wine Australia: Understanding the drivers of terroir in the Barossa Valley (2017-2021)

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2023 Principal Supervisor How Land Management Changes Over the Past Two Decades Have Affected Soil Health and Productivity in Southern Australian Cropping Systems Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time David Thomas Banks
    2022 Co-Supervisor Exploring the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on cereal grain nutrition Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Thi Diem Nguyen
    2022 Principal Supervisor Urban agriculture and community resilience in the face of climate change Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Hannah Joy Thwaites
    2022 Principal Supervisor Assessment of soil health and function indicators in natural and agricultural landscapes Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Kate Elizabeth Matthews
    2022 Principal Supervisor Impacts of soil modification on roots and the rhizosphere Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Stephen James Lang
    2021 Principal Supervisor Sustainable Agriculture at Scale: biotechnology, carbon sequestration and nature capital Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Alexander Robert George Mason
    2020 Principal Supervisor GIS Modelling of Urban Land-use Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Isobel Violet Hume
    2020 Co-Supervisor Characterisation of the water use efficiency and water-stress tolerance of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Alison Rose Gill
    2020 Principal Supervisor Controls and constraints: nutrient release from crop residues in mixed-cropping grain systems Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Jade Amelia Rose
    2020 Co-Supervisor Understanding the Relative Sustainability of Harvesting Pruned Vineyard Biomass and the Effect on Carbon Sequestration and Disease Management Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Benjamin Pike
    2019 Co-Supervisor Understanding Plant Responses to Applications of Macroalage Extracts Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Graeme Donald Anderson
    2019 Co-Supervisor Vineyard Floor Management Systems to Improve Soil Health and Wine Quality Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Merek Marie Kesser
  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2020 - 2022 Principal Supervisor Cover Crops, Carbon Dynamics and the Ecological Intensification of Vineyards – A View From Under the Vine Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Joseph Nicholas John Marks
    2020 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Formulation and efficiency of mycorrhizal phosphatic fertilisers Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Bir Bikram Biswasray
    2017 - 2019 Principal Supervisor Not 'Going, Going, Gone': Affordable Biodiversity Gains from a Conservation Auction Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Anthelia Bond
    2017 - 2020 Principal Supervisor The impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation on the growth and nutrition of agricultural plant species Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Binh Thi Thanh Tran
    2017 - 2021 Principal Supervisor Soil Health in Urban Agriculture with an Emphasis on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Matthias Johannes Salomon
    2017 - 2021 Principal Supervisor The Effects Of Arbuscular Mycorrhizas On Phosphorus Cycling And Leaching In Soils Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Cuc Thi Kim Tran
    2017 - 2021 Principal Supervisor Optimising Phosphorus Supply to Plants by Combining Inorganic P Fertilisers and Organic Amendments, and the Roles of Arbuscular Mycorrhizas Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Thi Thanh Hue Ngo
    2016 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Characterising blue carbon: An assessment of soil carbon in temperate coastal wetlands Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Christina Helen Asanopoulos
    2015 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Interactions Between Native and Exotic Plants in the Context of Grassland Restoration and the Importance of Below-ground Processes Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Monique Smith
    2015 - 2019 Principal Supervisor Nutrient Cycling Between Litters and Soil after Fire in Native Woodland and Pinus radiata Plantations Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Erinne Stirling
    2015 - 2017 Co-Supervisor Soil Hydraulic and Salinity Restrictions to Water Availability in Very Sandy Soil Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Justice Okona Frimpong
    2015 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Analysing the shoot and root response of wheat in a soil environment under variable water and nitrogen supply Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with Doctorate Full Time Miss Olivia Herlina Cousins
    2014 - 2017 Principal Supervisor Biological farming systems: Is there a role for mycorrhizas and organic amendments in the grain industry? Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Jessica Eve Mackay
    2014 - 2017 Co-Supervisor Clay Amended Sandy Soil - Influence of Clay Concentration and Particle Size on Nutrient Availability and Organic Carbon Content after Plant Residue Addition Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Shermeen Tahir

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