I trained as a geologist at the University of Sydney and the Australian National University, obtaining a PhD in isotope geochemistry in 1988. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, I returned to Australia as research Fellow, Queen Elizabeth II Fellow and Fellow at the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University.

In 2000 I took up an Associate Professorship in Singapore and in 2004 moved to the Chair in Environmental Change at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. I returned again to Australia to take up a Federation Fellowship in the School of Earth and Environmental Science at James Cook University (Cairns campus) in February 2009.

My research interests include the terrestrial carbon cycle, biochar, geoarchaeology and understanding the trajectory of past and future environmental change in the tropics.

Interests

Research

• isotope geochemistry
• quaternary science
• carbon cycle science
• biochar
• geoarchaeology

Experience

• 2014 to present - JCU Distinguished Professor and ARC Laureate Fellow, James Cook University (Cairns, Australia)
• 2009 to 2013 - JCU Distinguished Professor and ARC Federation Fellow, James Cook University (Cairns, Australia)
• 2004 to 2008 - Professor and Chair In Environmental Change, University of St Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)
• 2000 to 2003 - Associate Professor, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
• 1990 to 2000 - Fellow and QEII Fellow, Australian National University (Canberra, Australia)
• 1989 to 1990 - Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada)

Research Disciplines

• Soil Sciences (0503)
• Geochemistry (0402)
• Archaeology (2101)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Expanding Knowledge (9701)
• Climate and Climate Change (9603)

Fellowships

• 2014 - ARC Laureate Fellow
• 2007 - Royal Society of Edinburgh
• 2009 to 2014 - ARC Federation Fellow
• 1995 to 2000 - ARC Queen Elizabeth II Fellow

Other

• 2010 - JCU Distinguished Professor

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU.

Journal Articles

• Bird M, McBeath A, Ascough P, Levchenko V, Wurster C, Munksgaard N, Smernik R and Williams A (2017) Loss and gain of carbon during char degradation. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 106. pp. 80-89
• Orr R, McBeath A, Dieleman W, Bird M and Nelson P (in press) Estimating organic carbon content of soil in Papua New Guinea using infrared spectroscopy. Soil Research, pp. 1-8
• Twaddle R, Wurster C, Bird M and Ulm S (2017) Complexities in the palaeoenvironmental and archaeological interpretation of isotopic analyses of the Mud Shell Geloina erosa (Lightfoot, 1786). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 12. pp. 613-624
• Venter M, Dwyer J, Dieleman W, Ramachandra A, Gillieson D, Laurance S, Cernusak L, Beehler B, Jensen R and Bird M (in press) Optimal climate for large trees at high elevations drives patterns of biomass in remote forests of Papua New Guinea. Global Change Biology, pp. 1-12
• Agegnehu G, Nelson P and Bird M (2016) Crop yield, plant nutrient uptake and soil physicochemical properties under organic soil amendments and nitrogen fertilization on Nitisols. Soil and Tillage Research, 160. pp. 1-13
• Agegnehu G, Bass A, Nelson P and Bird M (2016) Benefits of biochar, compost and biochar-compost for soil quality, maize yield and greenhouse gas emissions in a tropical agricultural soil. Science of the Total Environment, 543 (Part A). pp. 295-306
• Bass A, Bird M, Kay G and Muirhead B (2016) Soil properties, greenhouse gas emissions and crop yield under compost, biochar and co-composted biochar in two tropical agronomic systems. Science of the Total Environment, 550. pp. 459-470
• Bird M, O'Grady D and Ulm S (2016) Humans, water, and the colonization of Australia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113 (41). pp. 11477-11482
• Cotrufo M, Boot C, Abiven S, Foster E, Haddix M, Reisser M, Wurster C, Bird M and Schmidt M (2016) Quantification of pyrogenic carbon in the environment: an integration of analytical approaches. Organic Geochemistry, 100. pp. 42-50
• Ellahi S, Taghipour B, Zarasvandi A, Bird M and Somarin A (2016) Mineralogy, geochemistry and stable iosotope studies of the dopolan bauxite deposit, Zagros Mountain, Iran. Minerals, 6 (1). pp. 1-21
• Goodrick I, Nelson P, Nake S, Webb M, Bird M and Huth N (2016) Tree-scale spatial variability of soil carbon cycling in a mature oil palm plantation. Soil Research, 54 (4). pp. 397-406
• Goodrick I, Connor S, Bird M and Nelson P (2016) Emission of CO₂ from tropical riparian forest soil is controlled by soil temperature, soil water content and depth to water table. Soil Research, 54 (3). pp. 311-320

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Soil in Mango and Banana fields: Effects of Nitrogen Fertiliser Type and Mulching (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• A Deeper Understanding of Isoscapes in the Tropics (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Environmental Change and Anthropogenic Fire in northern Australia during the late Holocene (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Long Records of Environmental Change from Sinkhole Sediments in the Northern Australian Semi-Arid Zone (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Climate Change Effects on Tropical Trees: Phenology, Eco-Physiology and Stable Isotopes of Amazon Forest Species under Increasing CO2 (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Modelling the Nitrogen Budget of Oil Palm Plantations to Reduce Uncertainty in Life Cycle Assesment. Case Study in Sumatra, Indonesia. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Rates of Erosion and Weathering in the Tropics. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Environmental controls on wood density in tropical forests (2015, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Cloud to coast: assessing, monitoring and managing forest carbon in Papua New Guinea (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Patterns of secondary forest recovery in two soil types (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Managing Mangrove Dominated Muddy Coasts through Integration of Local and Scientific Knowledge in Kien Giang, Vietnam and Brebes, Indonesia (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• A novel application of sclerochronology: forging new understandings of Aboriginal occupation in the South Wellesley Archipelago, Gulf of Carpentaria (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Biochar, Compost and Biochar Compost: Effects on Crop Performance, Soil Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emission in Tropical Agricultural Soils (2017, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Global change effects on soil C and soil C cycling (2012, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Carbon Cycle Processes in Tropical Savannas of Far North Queensland, Australia (2017, PhD , Primary Advisor)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit the JCU Research Data Catalogue.

• Twaddle, R. (2016) Temperature data from Mirdidingki Creek, Bentinck Island, June 2013 - July 2014. James Cook University
• Davies, K. (2015) Soil respiration measurements for savanna and forest vegetation types in the Wet Tropics and Atherton Tablelands region. James Cook University
• Bird, M. (2012) Algal biochar: effects and applications data. James Cook University
• Bird, M. (2012) Maps of the evolution of the Irrawaddy delta region, Myanmar, since 1850. James Cook University
• Bird, M. (2012) Forest contraction in north equatorial Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Sarawak, Palawan, Borneo and the Philippines) during the Last Glacial Period from stable carbon isotope data. James Cook University

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.