Role
Dr Marcello Di Bonito is an Associate Professor of Environmental and Soil Sciences in the School of Animal, Rural & Environmental Sciences at NTU, where he carries out his teaching and research activities.
Dr Di Bonito is an active researcher with a multidisciplinary approach, but with particular interests in soil conservation and its sustainable management, the relationship between natural resources, their ecosystem functions, and their modelling and understanding, especially through GIS and remote sensing. He currently focuses his research on ecological restoration issues, the role of soil in the restoration of ecosystems and the use of remote sensors and analysis.
He is module lead for the modules:
- Frontiers in Environmental Biogeochemistry
- G.I.S.
He contributes to teaching on the modules:
- Global Agriculture and Food Security
- Principle and Practice in Geography
- Dissertation
Dr Di Bonito also supervises undergraduate dissertations and postgraduate research projects in environmental science, physical geography and ecology with an emphasis on topics related to soil, water, interrelated processes, GIS and mapping.
Career overview
Trained as a physical scientist at the University of Naples, Italy where he graduated as an Earth scientist, Dr Di Bonito specialised in Pedology, Environmental Geochemistry, GIS and Spatial Analysis with various periods of study abroad (University of Granada, Spain; British Geological Survey, UK).
He studied his PhD in England, where he undertook a joint project between the University of Nottingham and the British Geological Survey.
After his PhD he worked for the NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory, where he increased his experience in analytical techniques and then joined the Environment Agency where he worked for 3 years in the Environment Management team, gaining invaluable experience in various aspects of the regulatory side for waste management, water quality, agriculture and pollution control.
He then joined the University of Nottingham for a postdoctoral project funded by the European Union in Sustainability Impact Assessment. Here he continued to develop my increasing interest for multi- and interdisciplinary research cutting across physical and social science (e.g., Sustainability, Ecosystems Goods and Services), where applications of methodologies and integration with participatory approaches (e.g., the Analytic Hierarchy Process methodology) and modelling (e.g., Bayesian Belief Networks) can increase understanding of complex processes and enhance decision making.
He then joined Nottingham Trent University in September 2009, where he has been undertaking research in relevant areas, both in the UK and abroad. Since 2021 he is affiliated with the University of Bologna as Associate Professor in Environmental Soil Science and Conservation.
His research is strongly multidisciplinary and focuses on soils and Geographical Information Systems to map change, vulnerability, suitability and other environmental issues.
Research areas
His research interests include:
- Environmental biogeochemistry
- GIS applications (including modelling, probability and uncertainty)
- Soil health, conservation and sustainable management
- Soil ecology and Ecological Restoration
- Rhizosphere and sustainable agriculture practices
- Water quality, conservation and sustainable
- Contaminated land and remediation
- Ecosystem functions and services
- Inter-related aspects and impacts on the environment and society
- Sustainability Science
Recent projects have included:
- ‘Dirty movies’: Towards an interdisciplinary understanding of cinema, soil, and sustainability. PhD studentship, Nottingham Trent University, starting October 2025.
- DEploying Ecosystemic solutions to imProve soil Health and uncOveRing subsoil functIons in the critical ZONe – DeepHorizon’. EU Horizon project in collaboration with 20 institutions and companies across Europe (Started October 2024).
- ‘Holistic evaluation of sewage pollution at Akureyri, Iceland‘. UK-Iceland Arctic Science Partnership Scheme (Started May 2024).
- ‘Particulate Contributions to Air Quality in Akureyri’. UK-Iceland Arctic Science Partnership Scheme (Started May 2024).
- Soil Health Evaluation in Ecological Restoration in savannah environments (SHEER - Principal Investigator, started June 2022, international collaboration funded by University of Bologna, Global South)
- Are rhizosphere farming practices the key for a sustainable future? (PhD project, Director of Studies, started October 2023, in collaboration with University of Bologna)
- Development of field method for mercury speciation analysis of environmental matrices from artisanal gold mining sites in Kenya (PhD project, Director of Studies since January 2021)
- Socio-cultural valuation of urban parks: Lessons from the Philippines (PhD project, co-supervisor since October 2019)
- Coupling Phyto- and Myco-remediation techniques to manage crude oil contaminated soils in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (PhD project, Director of Studies since April 2016).
- Sustainable intensification in agriculture: an action research (PhD project, co-supervisor since October 2014).
- Chemistry, mineralogy, mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals in soil, plants (Pistacia lentiscus L.) and soil solutions in the Rio San Giorgio catchment (Iglesias, Gonnesa, South Sardinia, Italy) to develop soil remediation strategies (PhD project, external supervisor, The University of Cagliary, Italy – 2010-2013).
- An investigation into the changing geographies of beer within the county of Nottinghamshire with reference to retail and consumption (SPUR project – 2015).
- Hazard assessment in the restless Campi Flegrei Caldera (Italy) through field and laboratory investigations (SPUR project in collaboration with INGV - June 2012).
- Catchment modelling of climate change impacts on hydrology and water quality, Ba watershed, Fiji (PhD project, external supervisor, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji - 2012 - 2015).
Opportunities to carry out postgraduate research towards an MPhil / PhD exist and further information may be obtained from the NTU Doctoral School.
External activity
Dr Di Bonito is a:
- Affiliated as Associate Professor with the University of Bologna (Italy)
- Chartered Member of the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS)
- Member of the European Geosciences Union (EGU)
- Member of the Società Italiana di Pedologia (SIPe)
- Member of the European Society for Soil Conservation
- Member of the Canadian Society of Soil Sciences
- Member of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health
Sponsors and collaborators
Current and past research is being conducted with the collaboration, funding and /or support of:
- University of Bologna, Italy
- University of Naples , Italy, Federico II
- University of Cagliari, Italy
- Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
- University of South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
- National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, INGV, Italy
- Italian National Research Council
- The University of Nottingham
- British Geological Survey
- NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory
- European Union (Leonardo programme and FP6 project)
- Institute of Mediterranean Agriculture and Forestry Systems (ISAFoM), Italy
- Centre for Environmental Management (Nottingham)
Publications
Dynamic characteristics of sulfur, iron and phosphorus in coastal polluted sediments, north China. Sun Q, Sheng Y, Yang J, Di Bonito M and Mortimer RJG, Environmental Pollution, 2016, 219, 588-595
Field sampling of soil pore water to evaluate the mobile fraction of trace elements in the Iglesiente area (SW Sardinia, Italy). Concas S, Ardau C, Di Bonito M, Lattanzi P and Vacca A, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 2015 (158), 82-94
An investigation of 'space' and social networks in creative clusters. Bisignano A and Di Bonito M, International Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference (ISBE 2015), Technology & Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 11-12 November 2015
Integrating Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for prioritising and planning conservation choices in Wales. Di Bonito M, Clarkson J, Wienhold ML, and Pecchia L, 12th International Symposium of The Analytic Hierarchy Process/Analytic Network Process (ISAHP), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 23-26 June 2013
Sewage sludge in Europe and in the UK: environmental impact and improved standards for recycling and recovery to land. Di Bonito M, in (eds) B De Vivo, H E Belken and A Lima, Environmental geochemistry: site characterization, data analysis, case histories, Elsevier, 2008, 251-286
Extraction and characterisation of pore water in contaminated soils. Di Bonito M, Breward N, Crout N, Smith B and Young S, and H, Zhang in (eds) B De Vivo, HE Belken and A Lima, Environmental Geochemistry: Site characterization, data analysis, case histories, second edition, Elsevier, 2008, 213-249
Baseline geochemical mapping of Sardinia (Italy). De Vivo B, Boni M, Marcello A, Di Bonito M and Russo A, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 1997, 60 (1), 77-90
Models of geochemical speciation: structure and applications. Di Bonito M, Lofts S and Groenenberg JE in (eds) B De Vivo, HE Belken and A Lima, Environmental geochemistry: site characterization, data analysis, case histories, second edition, 2008 Elsevier
Press expertise
- Soil health and conservation
- Water quality and sustainable management
- Ecosystem services
- Sustainability and nature based solutions
- Environmental degradation and pollution
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
Natural resources can often be affected by human activities. My research aims to find solutions and improve living conditions and ecosystems in areas often degraded or under threat of degradation.
