laura cardenas

Science

Dr Laura Cardenas

Atmospheric Chemist

Farming Footprints and Adaptations

PUBLICATIONS
Location
North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2SB
Tel
+44 (0) 1837 512 328
Email
laura.cardenas@rothamsted.ac.uk
Professional Platforms
LinkedIn
ResearchGate
Academia

Biography

Laura Cardenas is an atmospheric chemist, and Deputy Lead of the Farming Footprint and Adaptations team, who works to understand and reduce atmospheric emissions from agricultural activities. She focuses on N and C-gases, particularly nitrous oxide, one of agriculture’s most powerful climate‑warming gases, carbon dioxide and methane, the latter mainly emitted from livestock management. Her research helps farmers, policymakers, and national inventory teams make better decisions about land management and climate reporting, strengthening efforts to cut emissions and protect ecosystems. She studies how nitrogen moves through soils using field measurements, automated systems, and long‑term monitoring to reveal how grazing, nutrients, and weather shape emissions, as well as developing and testing mitigation strategies. 

Strategic Programme

  • Soil 2 Nutrition (S2N)

Science Projects

  • Grazing behaviour, urine composition and soil properties are key controls of N2O emission factors in the uplands
  • Sustainable intensification of temperate and tropical livestock production
  • Developing metrics and use of long term datasets in grassland systems
  • Delivering the agricultural greenhouse gas and ammonia inventories and projections

Awards

  • 1997 - PhD, Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
  • 1992 - Master's in Environmental Sciences, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Venezuela, Summa Cum Laude
  • 1985 - Licenciate, Chemistry, Simon Bolivar University, Venezuela

Measures of Esteem

  • 2016 Invited to give a presentation in the SICA conference, Italy
  • 2015 Invited to give a presentation on the SSSA, Minnesota, US
  • 2014 Invited to give a presentation on the SSSA, Long Beach, US