Professor Jeff Powell

Professor Jeff Powell obtained his PhD from the University of Guelph, Canada in 2008, where he studied the biological impacts of genetically-modified crops on soils, including mycorrhizas, rhizobia, and soil fauna.

His postdoctoral research at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, examined the role of fungal traits in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and factors controlling the predictability of microbial community assembly, both of which have relevance for the management of microbial communities and their ecosystem services.

He joined the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment in 2011. He took up the role of Interim Dean, GRS in 2025.

Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise

Professor Powell is interested in the processes underlying the assembly of microbial communities and how these processes can be manipulated to achieve beneficial outcomes. A goal of his research is to understand the contributions of microbial biodiversity to the productivity of managed and natural systems and to how these systems respond to environmental change.

Outcomes of this work will be a greater understanding of i) how mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobia, and other microbial associates of plants control aspects of carbon and nutrient cycling and ii) how these can be managed to confer greater benefits to plants (linked to enhanced nutrient uptake and reduced impacts of pathogens).

Fields of Research

Community Ecology; Microbial Ecology; Soil Biology; Ecological Impacts of Climate Change; Invasive Species Ecology

Socio-Economic Objectives

Flora, Fauna, and Biodiversity; Soils; Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change; Control of Pests, Diseases, and Exotic Species

Awards and Recognition

Elected Western Sydney University’s Environment Sustainability Research Theme Champion for a period of two years. The role of the Research Theme Champions is to lead and promote cross-disciplinary research teams and practices across the University’s research themes to build research capacity, 2016
Science and Innovation Award Winner (GRDC category), Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2012
Awarded first runner up, ProSPER.Net-Scopus 2011 Asia Pacific Young Scientist of the Year in the category of Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management. He was presented with this at the ProSPER.Net-Scopus symposium held at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2011
Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship, European Commission, 2009
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, 2008
Humboldt Research Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2007
Editor-in-Chief, Pedobiologia: Journal of Soil Ecology; Section Editor, Plant and Soil; Editorial Board Member, FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Regular reviewer for numerous international journals including Ecology Letters, New Phytologist, and Mycorrhiza

Current Grants

Managing the decline of the Imlay Mallee

Partner/Funding Body: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (Commonwealth)
Period: 2024-2026

The impact of Loam inoculants on soil carbon building and stability and field-scale greenhouse emissions

Co-Researcher: Yolima Carrillo
Partner/Funding Body: LoamBio Pty Ltd
Period: 2023-2024

Hygrophoraceae DNA biobank project: DNA analysis

Partner/funding body: NSW Department of Planning and Environment

Period: 2022

NICE – Nutrients in a circular economy
Co-Researcher: Jason Reynolds
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre
Period: 2022-2026

Tropical deadwood carbon fluxes: Improving carbon models by incorporating termites and microbes
Partner/Funding Body: National Science Foundation
Period: 2022

Develop novel integrated disease management strategies for delivering solutions to mitigate the impact of major broccolini diseases
Co-Researchers: Ian Anderson and Jonathan Plett
Partner/Funding Body: Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre
Period: 2022-2026

Recycled water and soil interactions
Co-Researcher: Jason Reynolds
Partner/Funding Body: Sydney Water
Period: 2021

Former snowy scheme rehabilitation sites project - biological indicators
Co-Researchers: Yolima Carrillo and Uffe Nielsen
Partner/Funding Body: NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Period: 2021

Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan - Research Strategy and Implementation
Co-Researchers: Paul Rymer, Uffe Nielsen, Matthias Boer, Rachael Nolan, Elise Pendall, Yolima Carrillo, Catriona Macdonald, Ben Moore, Markus Riegler, Neil Perry and Juan Salazar
Partner/Funding Body: NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Period: 2021-2025

Threatened Hygrocybe, DNA analysis
Partner/Funding Body: Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Period: 2020

The role of endophytic fungi in soil carbon sequestration
Co-Researcher: Yolima Carrillo
Partner/Funding Body: SoilCQuest Pty Ltd and Western Sydney University
Period: 2020

Understanding mycorrhizal phenotypes using functional traits
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Future Fellowship
Period: 2020-2024

Evaluating the use of biological indicators in restoration and rehabilitation
Co-Researchers: Uffe Nielsen, Yolima Carrillo and Catriona Macdonald
Partner/Funding Body: NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
Period: 2019-2020

A new tool of the trade: trait-based approaches in fungal ecology
Co-Researcher: Ian Anderson
Partner/Funding Body: Universities Australia
Period: 2018

Sustainable pasture systems under climate extremes
Co-Researchers: Sally Power, Mark Tjoelker, Elise Pendall, David Tissue, Jonathan Plett, Ian Anderson, Ben Moore, Catriona Macdonald, Brajesh Singh and Yolima Carrillo
Partner/Funding Body: Meat & Livestock Australia Donor Company and Dairy Australia
Period: 2017-2020

Closing the carbon cycle: an ecological understanding of wood decay
Co-Researchers: William Cornwell and Amy Zanne
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Discovery [via University of New South Wales]
Period: 2016-2018

Decomposer interactions and carbon flux: termite influences on microbial wood decay within the Australian SuperSite network
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Academy of Science
Period: 2016

Variation in colonisation and resource uptake of cotton mycorrhizal partnerships
Partner/Funding Body: Cotton Research and Development Corporation
Period: 2014

Delineate: an innovative tool for microbial biodiversity discovery, ecological analysis, and species delineation
Co-Researchers: Ian Anderson and Matthias Rillig
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Academy of Science
Period: 2014

Getting to the root of the matter: predicting plant benefits from arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses
Co-Researcher: Matthias Rillig
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Discovery
Period: 2014-2016

Switching partners: a driving force for tree productivity in a changing environment?
Co-Researchers: Ian Anderson and Matthias Rillig
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Discovery
Period: 2013-2015

A trait-based approach for understanding the processes limiting effective nodulation of pulse crops
Partners/Funding Body: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Period: 2012-2014

Ecological and evolutionary origins of multifunctionality in ectomycorrhizal Pisolithus isolates
Co-researchers: John Cairney and Ian Anderson
Partner/Funding Body: University of Western Sydney
Period: 2012-2013

Climate change effects on decomposition of coarse woody debris, as mediated by wood traits and fungal communities
Co-researchers: Brendan Choat and Peter Reich
Partner/Funding Body: University of Western Sydney
Period: 2011-2013

Trophic diversity, resource compartmentation, and the stability of ecosystems
Co-Researcher: Matthias Rillig
Partner/Funding Body: European Commission
Period: 2009-2011