Dr. Andrew Cross

- Position:
- Research Associate
- Home Page:
- http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/across2
I started work at the UK Biochar Research Centre in late 2009. My role as research associate involves the development of a toolkit to provide screening of different biochar products. The toolkit will assess biochar stability in soils, the effects of biochar additions on pre-existing soil carbon, and the agronomic value of biochar additions to soil.
Prior to this I completed my PhD in 2009 at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Professor John Grace. My PhD title was “An investigation of carbon flows from forest soils, in relation to climatic warming”, and involved work at forests in the U.K., as well as collaborative work carried out with the French National Institue for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Bordeaux, France.
I completed my MSc in Environmental Protection and Management at the University of Edinburgh in 2005, and a BSc (Hons) in Marine and Environmental Biology at the University of St. Andrews in 2004.
Relevant Research Areas:
- Biochar and international development
- Biochar and the soil ecosystem
- Biochar function
- Biochar standards
Relevant Projects:
- Biochar screening toolkit
- Biochar: Socio-economic and biophysical “fit”
- Calibrating a method to compare biochar carbon stability
- Interreg IVB North Sea Region: Climate Saving Soils
Publications:
Cross, A., Sohi, S.P. (2013) A method for screening the relative long-term stability of biochar, GCB Bioenergy, 5:215-220
Crombie, K., Mašek, O., Sohi, S.P.. Brownsort, P., Cross, A. (2013) The effect of pyrolysis conditions on biochar stability as determined by three methods, GCB Bioenergy, 5:122-131
Shackley, S., Carter, S., Knowles, T., Middelink, E., Haefele, S., Sohi, S., Cross, A., Haszeldine, S. (2012), Sustainable gasification-biochar systems? A case-study of rice-husk gasification in Cambodia, Part I: context, chemical properties, environmental and health and safety issues, Energy Policy, 42: 49-58.
Shackley, S., Sohi, S.P., Ibarrola, R.E., Hammond, J., Masek, O., Brownsort, P., Cross, A., Prendergast-Miller, M., Haszeldine, S. 2012, Biochar, Tool for Climate Change Mitigation and Soil Management. In: R Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, Springer Verlag, New York, pp. 913-961 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5770-1_6
Mašek, O., Brownsort, P., Cross, A., & Sohi, S. (2011). Influence of production conditions on the yield and environmental stability of biochar. Fuel. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2011.08.044
Cross, A., Sohi, S.P. (2011) The priming potential of biochar products in relation to labile carbon contents and soil
organic matter status, Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 43: 2127-2134Oliver, I., Cross, A., Searl, A., Shackley, S., Smith, C., Sohi, S. The State of Scotland's Soil: Emerging Issues, SEPA, 2011
Karve P, Shackley S, Carter S, Anderson P, Prabunhe R, Cross A, Haszeldine S, Haefele S, Knowles T, Field J, Tanger P (2011), Biochar for Carbon Reduction, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Management (BIOCHARM). A Report for the APN (Asia Pacific Network for Climate Change Research).