Teaching and Development

  • BIOL2203 Plant Biology
  • BIOL2015 Field Ecology
  • BIOL3200 Capstone Plant Biology
  • BIOL2201 Australia’s Terrestrial Environment

Researcher biography

Susanne leads a vibrant team researching natural ecosystems and agroecosystems focussed on plants, microbes and soil. This aims to advance the circular nutrient economy, the restoration of degraded soils and landscapes, and the sustainable use of Australia's flora in a project that is led by Indigenous Australians.

Funded PhD and MPhil positions are available in the (i) Bushfood project and the (ii) Next-generation fertilisers project and soil ameliorants project. Honours and Masters projects are available in all active projects. Please register your interest emailing Susanne.Schmidt@uq.edu.au

Active projects:

  • A Deadly Solution: Combining Traditional Knowledge and Western Science for an Indigenous-led Bushfood Industry (ARC Discovery-Indigenous)
  • Realising Smart Compost Formulations (Fight Food Waste CRC)
  • Next-generation fertilisers and soil ameliorants (ARC Industry Transformation Training Centre 'Transforming Biosolids')
  • Boosting the natural regeneration of the nitrogen capital in grazing lands (Meat & Livestock Australia)
  • Validating novel phosphorus formulations augmented with beneficial microbes (Innovation Connections Partnership, EcoGrowth Fertilisers)
  • The integrated bio-economy project and the controlled biosphere (ARC Linkages)
  • Ultrahigh-resolution remote sensing for assessing biodiversity hotspots (ARC Discovery)

Completed recent projects

  • Environmentally responsive bio-composite fertilisers
  • Ecofriendly fertilisers for sustainable farming
  • Effective microbial biostimulants in horticulture
  • New technologies and management: transforming nitrogen use efficiency in cane production
  • Recycled phosphorus from waste streams as efficient sources for agriculture
  • License to farm - nitrogen use efficiency in sugarcane production
  • Developing sugarcane-legume companion cropping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Spinifex desert grass - ecophysiology and nano-cellulose production for novel biomaterials
  • The role of soil microbes to restore soil carbon in tropical reforestation
  • Soil carbon sequestration in the Cooloola biosphere chronosequence
  • Advancing Livestock Waste as Low Emission-High Efficiency Fertilizers
  • Ecogenomic profiling of Queensland sugarcane soils
  • more (not listed)

Areas of research