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Eliciting experts’ tacit models for the interpretation of soil information, an example from the evaluation of potential benefits from conservation agriculture (2020)
Journal Article
Chabala, L. M., Chimungu, J. G., Lark, R. M., Mtambanengwe, F., Nalivata, P. C., Phiri, E., & Sakala, G. M. (2020). Eliciting experts’ tacit models for the interpretation of soil information, an example from the evaluation of potential benefits from conservation agriculture. Geoderma, 376, Article 114545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114545

© 2020 The Authors We examined a procedure to elicit the tacit models underlying expert opinions on environmental factors that affect the absolute yield benefits expected from the adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) practices in southern Africa... Read More about Eliciting experts’ tacit models for the interpretation of soil information, an example from the evaluation of potential benefits from conservation agriculture.

Selenium Deficiency Is Widespread and Spatially Dependent in Ethiopia (2020)
Journal Article
Belay, A., Joy, E. J., Chagumaira, C., Zerfu, D., Ander, E. L., Young, S. D., …Gashu, D. (2020). Selenium Deficiency Is Widespread and Spatially Dependent in Ethiopia. Nutrients, 12(6), Article 1565. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061565

: Selenium (Se) is an essential element for human health and livestock productivity. Globally, human Se status is highly variable, mainly due to the influence of soil types on the Se content of crops, suggesting the need to identify areas of deficien... Read More about Selenium Deficiency Is Widespread and Spatially Dependent in Ethiopia.

Spatial geochemistry influences the home range of elephants (2020)
Journal Article
Sach, F., Yon, L., Henley, M. D., Bedetti, A., Buss, P., de Boer, W. F., …Watts, M. J. (2020). Spatial geochemistry influences the home range of elephants. Science of the Total Environment, 729, Article 139066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139066

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. The unique geochemistry surrounding the Palabora Mining Company (PMC) land may act as a micronutrient hotspot, attracting elephants to the area. The PMC produces refined copper and extracts phosphates and other minerals. Understa... Read More about Spatial geochemistry influences the home range of elephants.

Nitrogen effect on zinc biofortification of maize and cowpea in Zimbabwean smallholder farms (2020)
Journal Article
Watts, M. J., Manzeke, M. G., Mtambanengwe, F., Broadley, M. R., Lark, M., & Mapfumo, P. (2020). Nitrogen effect on zinc biofortification of maize and cowpea in Zimbabwean smallholder farms. Agronomy Journal, 112(3), 2256-2274. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20175

© 2020 The Authors. Agronomy Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society of Agronomy Agronomic biofortification of crops with zinc (Zn) can be enhanced under increased nitrogen (N) supply. Here, the effects of N fertili... Read More about Nitrogen effect on zinc biofortification of maize and cowpea in Zimbabwean smallholder farms.

Selenium deficiency risks in sub-Saharan African food systems and their geospatial linkages (2020)
Journal Article
Ligowe, I. S., Phiri, F. P., Ander, E. L., Bailey, E. H., Chilimba, A. D. C., Gashu, D., …Broadley, M. R. (2020). Selenium deficiency risks in sub-Saharan African food systems and their geospatial linkages. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 79(4), 457-467. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120006904

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for human health. However, our knowledge of the prevalence of Se deficiency is less than for other micronutrients of public health concern such as iodine, iron and zinc, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). St... Read More about Selenium deficiency risks in sub-Saharan African food systems and their geospatial linkages.

Magnesium biofortification of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) via agronomy and breeding as a potential way to reduce grass tetany in grazing ruminants (2019)
Journal Article
Kumssa, D. B., Lovatt, J. A., Graham, N. S., Palmer, S., Hayden, R., Wilson, L., …Broadley, M. R. (2020). Magnesium biofortification of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) via agronomy and breeding as a potential way to reduce grass tetany in grazing ruminants. Plant and Soil, 457, 25–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04337-x

© 2019, The Author(s). Aim: Magnesium (Mg) deficiency (known as grass tetany) is a serious metabolic disorder that affects grazing ruminants. We tested whether Mg-fertiliser can increase Mg concentration of Italian ryegrasses (Lolium multiflorum L.)... Read More about Magnesium biofortification of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) via agronomy and breeding as a potential way to reduce grass tetany in grazing ruminants.

Urine selenium concentration is a useful biomarker for assessing population level selenium status (2019)
Journal Article
Phiri, F. P., Ander, E. L., Lark, R. M., Bailey, E. H., Chilima, B., Gondwe, J., …Broadley, M. R. (2020). Urine selenium concentration is a useful biomarker for assessing population level selenium status. Environment International, 134, Article 105218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105218

Plasma selenium (Se) concentration is an established population level biomarker of Se status, especially in Se-deficient populations. Previously observed correlations between dietary Se intake and urinary Se excretion suggest that urine Se concentrat... Read More about Urine selenium concentration is a useful biomarker for assessing population level selenium status.

Boundary line models for soil nutrient concentrations and wheat yield in national-scale data sets (2019)
Journal Article
Lark, R., Gillingham, V., Langton, D., & Marchant, B. (2020). Boundary line models for soil nutrient concentrations and wheat yield in national-scale data sets. European Journal of Soil Science, 71(3), 334-351. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12891

In boundary line analysis a biological response (e.g. crop yield) is assumed to be a function of a variable (e.g. soil nutrient concentration) which limits the response in only some subset of observations because other limiting factors also apply. Th... Read More about Boundary line models for soil nutrient concentrations and wheat yield in national-scale data sets.

Review: mine tailings in an African tropical environment—mechanisms for the bioavailability of heavy metals in soils (2019)
Journal Article
Kaninga, B. K., Chishala, B. H., Maseka, K. K., Sakala, G. M., Lark, M. R., Tye, A., & Watts, M. J. (2019). Review: mine tailings in an African tropical environment—mechanisms for the bioavailability of heavy metals in soils. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 42(4), 1069-1094. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00326-2

© 2019, Springer Nature B.V. Heavy metals are of environmental significance due to their effect on human health and the ecosystem. One of the major exposure pathways of Heavy metals for humans is through food crops. It is postulated in the literature... Read More about Review: mine tailings in an African tropical environment—mechanisms for the bioavailability of heavy metals in soils.

The risk of selenium deficiency in Malawi is large and varies over multiple spatial scales (2019)
Journal Article
Phiri, F. P., Ander, E. L., Bailey, E. H., Chilima, B., Chilimba, A. D. C., Gondwe, J., …Broadley, M. R. (2019). The risk of selenium deficiency in Malawi is large and varies over multiple spatial scales. Scientific Reports, 9(1), Article 6566. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43013-z

Selenium (Se) is an essential human micronutrient. Deficiency of Se decreases the activity of selenoproteins and can compromise immune and thyroid function and cognitive development, and increase risks from non-communicable diseases. The prevalence o... Read More about The risk of selenium deficiency in Malawi is large and varies over multiple spatial scales.

Landmark Papers no. 8: Burgess, T.M. & Webster, R. 1980. Optimal interpolation and isarithmic mapping of soil properties. I. The semi-variogram and punctual kriging. Journal of Soil Science, 31, 315-331: Commentary on the impact of Burgess & Webster (1980a) (2019)
Journal Article
Lark, R., Heuvelink, G., & Bishop, T. (2019). Landmark Papers no. 8: Burgess, T.M. & Webster, R. 1980. Optimal interpolation and isarithmic mapping of soil properties. I. The semi-variogram and punctual kriging. Journal of Soil Science, 31, 315-331: Commentary on the impact of Burgess & Webster (1980a). European Journal of Soil Science, 70(1), 7-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12749

This landmark paper by Burgess & Webster (1980a) signalled a new era in the spatial mapping of the soil. The emergence of pedometrics as a distinct subdiscipline of soil science was a gradual process, and had its roots in earlier studies than this on... Read More about Landmark Papers no. 8: Burgess, T.M. & Webster, R. 1980. Optimal interpolation and isarithmic mapping of soil properties. I. The semi-variogram and punctual kriging. Journal of Soil Science, 31, 315-331: Commentary on the impact of Burgess & Webster (1980a).

Uncertainty in geological interpretations: effectiveness of expert elicitations (2019)
Journal Article
Randle, C. H., Bond, C. E., Lark, R. M., & Monaghan, A. A. (2019). Uncertainty in geological interpretations: effectiveness of expert elicitations. Geosphere, 15(1), 108-118. https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01586.1

Uncertainty in geological interpretations creates and often unquantified risk for sub- surface industries. The challenge of quantifying interpretation uncertainty has been addressed using various methods. For interpretation of borehole data, empirica... Read More about Uncertainty in geological interpretations: effectiveness of expert elicitations.

Prevalence of inherited blood disorders and associations with malaria and anemia in Malawian children (2018)
Journal Article
McGann, P. T., Williams, A. M., Ellis, G., McElhinney, K. E., Romano, L., Woodall, J., …Suchdev, P. S. (2018). Prevalence of inherited blood disorders and associations with malaria and anemia in Malawian children. Blood Advances, 2(21), 3035-3044. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2018023069

© 2018 American Society of Hematology. In sub-Saharan Africa, inherited causes of anemia are common, but data are limited regarding the geographical prevalence and coinheritance of these conditions and their overall contributions to childhood anemia.... Read More about Prevalence of inherited blood disorders and associations with malaria and anemia in Malawian children.

Combining two national-scale data sets to map soil properties, the case of available magnesium in England and Wales: combining two soil surveys (2018)
Journal Article
Lark, R. M., Ander, E. L., & Broadley, M. R. (2019). Combining two national-scale data sets to map soil properties, the case of available magnesium in England and Wales: combining two soil surveys. European Journal of Soil Science, 70(2), 361-377. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12743

© 2018 The Authors. European Journal of Soil Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society of Soil Science. Given the costs of soil survey it is necessary to make the best use of available datasets, but data that differ wi... Read More about Combining two national-scale data sets to map soil properties, the case of available magnesium in England and Wales: combining two soil surveys.

Defining the habitat niche of Alopecurus myosuroides at the field scale (2018)
Journal Article
Metcalfe, H., Milne, A., Webster, R., Lark, R., Murdoch, A., Kanelo, L., & Storkey, J. (in press). Defining the habitat niche of Alopecurus myosuroides at the field scale. Weed Research, https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12300

The distribution of Alopecurus myosuroides (black-grass) in fields is patchy. The locations of these patches can be influenced by the environment. This presents an opportunity for precision management through patch spraying. We surveyed five fields o... Read More about Defining the habitat niche of Alopecurus myosuroides at the field scale.

The singularity index for soil geochemical variables, and a mixture model for its interpretation (2018)
Journal Article
Lark, R., Patton, M., Ander, E., & Reay, D. (2018). The singularity index for soil geochemical variables, and a mixture model for its interpretation. Geoderma, 323, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.02.032

A geochemical anomaly is a concentration of an element or other constituent in a medium (soil, sediment or surface water) which is unusual in its local setting. Geochemical anomalies may be interesting as indicators of processes such as point contami... Read More about The singularity index for soil geochemical variables, and a mixture model for its interpretation.

When unlikely outcomes occur: the role of communication format in maintaining communicator credibility (2018)
Journal Article
Jenkins, S. C., Harris, A. J., & Lark, M. (2019). When unlikely outcomes occur: the role of communication format in maintaining communicator credibility. Journal of Risk Research, 22(5), 537-554. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2018.1440415

The public expects science to reduce or eliminate uncertainty (Kinzig & Starrett, 2003), yet scientific forecasts are probabilistic (at best) and it is simply not possible to make predictions with certainty. Whilst an ‘unlikely’ outcome is not expect... Read More about When unlikely outcomes occur: the role of communication format in maintaining communicator credibility.

Analysis of variance in soil research: let the analysis fit the design (2018)
Journal Article
Webster, R., & Lark, R. (2018). Analysis of variance in soil research: let the analysis fit the design. European Journal of Soil Science, 69(1), 126-139. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12511

Sound design for experiments on soil is based on two fundamental principles: replication and randomization. Replication enables investigators to detect and measure contrasts between treatments against the backdrop of natural variation. Random allocat... Read More about Analysis of variance in soil research: let the analysis fit the design.

How should a spatial-coverage sample design for a geostatistical soil survey be supplemented to support estimation of spatial covariance parameters? (2018)
Journal Article
Lark, M., & Marchant, B. (2018). How should a spatial-coverage sample design for a geostatistical soil survey be supplemented to support estimation of spatial covariance parameters?. Geoderma, 319, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.12.022

We use an expression for the error variance of geostatistical predictions, which includes the effect of uncertainty in the spatial covariance parameters, to examine the performance of sample designs in which a proportion of the total number of observ... Read More about How should a spatial-coverage sample design for a geostatistical soil survey be supplemented to support estimation of spatial covariance parameters?.