Adjunct Associate Professor Catriona Macdonald
Dr Catriona Macdonald was appointed an Adjunct A/Professor with the Institute in April 2026.
Previously she had been with Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment since November 2010 investigating the impacts of environmental change on nutrient cycling and resource allocation within terrestrial environments. Her research interests are geared towards understanding how environmental change impacts nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning and how this affects productivity and sustainability of soils.
Working across natural, agricultural and managed ecosystems, she aims to improve understanding of how factors such as climate change and land management impact microbial-mediated nutrient transformations, and how this feeds back to ecosystem functioning.
To achieve this Catriona uses field-based and controlled environment studies to determine rates of nutrient (C, N and P) transformations, quantify nutrient resource allocation in above- and below-ground pools, as well as investigating the function and diversity of key microbial drivers in C N and P cycles using a range of in-situ approaches (soil CO2 flux, decomposition, net mineralisation), laboratory assays (MicroResp, enzyme activities, potential mineralisation, degradation rates) and molecular approaches (community profiling and sequencing analysis).
Her research experience includes determining the effects of elevated CO2, elevated temperature, drought and atmospheric N deposition, on nutrient cycling and on the functioning and structure and of soil microbial communities, as well as assessing the sustainability of long-term metal contaminated sludge addition in agricultural systems.
Catriona also maintains an interest in the application of microbial profiling techniques for forensic use in both environmental and human biomes.
Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise
Nutrient cycling; plant-soil interactions; climate change; heavy metals; forensic microbial ecology
Selected Grants / Projects
An integrated disease management program for the Australian Potato Industry
Co-Researchers: Brajesh Singh, Eleonora Egidi, Juntao Wang, Chao Xiong, Tadeo Saez Sandino
Partner/funding body: Hort Innovation
Period: 2024-2029
Mechanistic responses of phosphorus-limited forests to CO2 enrichment
Co-Researcher: Ben Smith and David Ellsworth
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Discovery
Period: 2022-2025
Novel bio-based and agronomic solutions for effective management of key root pathogens
Co-Researchers: Brajesh Singh, Eleonora Egidi, and Juntao Wang
Partner/funding body: Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre
Period: 2022-2026
Rhizosphere mediation of soil greenhouse gas fluxes with climate change
Co-Researchers: Elise Pendall and Sally Power
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Discovery
Period: 2022-2024
Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan - Research Strategy and Implementation
Co-Researchers: Paul Rymer, Uffe Nielsen, Rachael Nolan, Elise Pendall, Jeff Powell, Yolima Carrillo, Matthias Boer, Ben Moore, Markus Riegler, Neil Perry and Juan Salazar
Partner/Funding Body: NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Period: 2021-2025
Demonstrate the efficacy of microbial products for Australian wheat varieties for increased productivity and profitability
Co-Researchers: Brajesh Singh
Partner/Funding Body: Chr. Hansen Pty Ltd
Period: 2019-2023
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Jayaramaiah RH, Martins CSC, Egidi E, Macdonald CA, Wang JT, Liu HW, Reich PB, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Singh BK, (2025) 'Soil function-microbial diversity relationship is impacted by plant functional groups under climate change', Soil Biology & Biochemistry, vol.200, art no.109623
Shakoor A, Pendall E, Macdonald CA, (2025) 'Microbial mechanisms of interactive climate-driven changes in soil N2O and CH4 fluxes: A global meta-analysis', Journal of Environmental Management, 376, art. no. 124380
Batista BD, Wang J, Liu H, Kaur S, Macdonald CA, Qiu Z, Trivedi P, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Xiong C, Liang J, Bange M, Singh BK, (2024) 'Biotic and abiotic responses to soilborne pathogens and environmental predictors of soil health', Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol.189, Article no. 109246
Jayaramaiah RH, Egidi E, Macdonald CA, Singh BK, (2024) 'Linking biodiversity and biotic interactions to ecosystem functioning', Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, vol.3, no.3, art no.e12119
Jiang M, Crous KY, Carrillo Y, Macdonald CA, Anderson IC, Boer MM, Farrell M, Gherlenda AN, Castañeda-Gómez L, Hasegawa S, Jarosch K, Milham PJ, Ochoa-Hueso R, Pathare V, Pihlblad J, Piñeiro J, Powell JR, Power SA, Reich PB, Riegler M, Zaehle S, Smith B, Medlyn BE, Ellsworth DS, (2024) 'Microbial competition for phosphorus limits the CO2 response of a mature forest', Nature, vol.630, no.8017, pp 660-665
Jiang M, Medlyn BE, Wårlind D, Knauer J, Fleischer K, Goll DS, Olin S, Yang X, Yu L, Zaehle S, Zhang H, Lv H, Crous KY, Carrillo Y, Macdonald C, Anderson I, Boer MM, Farrell M, Gherlenda A, Castañeda-Gómez L, Hasegawa S, Jarosch K, Milham P, Ochoa-Hueso R, Pathare V, Pihlblad J, Nevado JP, Powell J, Power SA, Reich P, Riegler M, Ellsworth DS, Smith B, (2024) 'Carbon-phosphorus cycle models overestimate CO2enrichment response in a mature Eucalyptus forest', Science Advances, vol.10, no.27, Article no.adl5822
Wadduwage J, Egidi E, Singh BK, Macdonald CA, (2024) 'Impacts of biostimulants on crop yield and biological activity under drought conditions', Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, vol.3, no.1, art. no e12093
Li J, Wang J, Liu H, Macdonald CA, Singh BK, (2023) 'Microbial inoculants with higher capacity to colonize soils improved wheat drought tolerance', Microbial Biotechnology, vol.16, no.11, pp 2131-2144
Pihlblad J, Andresen LC, Macdonald CA, Ellsworth DS, Carrillo Y, (2023) 'The influence of elevated CO2 and soil depth on rhizosphere activity and nutrient availability in a mature Eucalyptus woodland', Biogeosciences, vol.20, no.3, pp 505 - 521
Singh PK, Egidi E, Macdonald CA, Singh BK, (2023) 'Host selection has a stronger impact on leaf microbiome assembly compared to land-management practices', Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, vol.2, no.2, pp 99-111
Wadduwage J, Liu H, Egidi E, Singh BK, Macdonald CA, (2023) 'Effects of biostimulant application on soil biological and physicochemical properties: A field study', Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, vol.2, no.3, pp 285-300