Faculty Member Profile

9 years of experience

• Soil microbial responses to organic/inorganic amendments
• Multi-omics profiling of soil microbial ecology
• Microbial drivers of CO2 emissions and N2-fixation in drylands
• Carbon sequestration in arid agroecosystems
• Dissolved organic matter dynamics and microbial responses
• Heavy metal remediation via bone-derived biochar
• Microplastic-biochar interactions in soil and water

Total Publications: 78

Latest Ten

• Khan ZH, Yu H, Li H, Kazmi SS, Han R, Azeem M, Sun X, Rehman ZU, Li G. 2025. Fe- modified biochar-driven ROS generation in the rhizosphere and their role in Microplastic transformation. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 1:139718. (2025)
• Azeem M, Wang J, Kubwimana JJ, Kazmi SS, Khan ZH, He K, Han R. 2025. Biochar-derived dissolved organic matter (BDOM) shifts fungal community composition: BDOM-soil DOM interaction. Applied Soil Ecology 207: 105916. (2025)
• Azeem M, Sun TR, Jeyasundar PGSA, Han RX, Li H, Abdelrahman H, Shaheen SM, Zhu YG, Li G. 2023. Biochar-derived dissolved organic matter (BDOM) and its influence on soil microbial community composition, function, and activity: A review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 53: 1912-1934. (2023)
• Azeem M, Raza S, Li G, Smith P, Zhu YG. 2022. Soil inorganic carbon sequestration through alkalinity regeneration using biologically induced weathering of rock powder and biochar. Soil Ecology Letters, 4(4): 293-306. (2022)
• Azeem M, Hassan TU, Tahir MI, Ali A, Jeyasundar PGSA, Hussain Q, Basheer S, Mehmood S, Zhang Z. 2021. Tea leaves biochar as a carrier of Bacillus cereus improves the soil function and crop productivity. Applied Soil Ecology, 157: 103732. (2021)
• Azeem M, Hale L, Montgomery J, Crowley D, McGiffen ME Jr. 2021. Biochar and compost effects on soil microbial communities and nitrogen induced respiration in turfgrass soils. PLoS ONE, 15(11): e0242209. (2021)
• Azeem M, Ali A, Soundari PG, Yiman L, Abdelrahman H, Latif A, Ronghua L, Basta N, Li G, Shaheen SM, Rinklebe J, Zhang Z. 2021. Bone-derived biochar improved soil quality and reduced Cd and Zn phytoavailability in a multi-metal contaminated mining soil. Environmental Pollution, 277: 116800. (2021)
• Azeem M, Shaheen SM, Ali A, Jeyasundar PGSA, Latif A, Abdelrahman H, Li R, Almazroui M, Niazi NK, Sarmah AK, Li G, Rinklebe J, Zhu YG, Zhang Z. 2021. Removal of potentially toxic elements from contaminated soil and water using bone char compared to plant- and bone-derived biochars: A review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 427: 128131. (2021)
• Azeem M, Sun D, Crowley DE, Hayat R, Hussain Q, Tahir MI, Ali A, Soundari PG, Rinklebe J, Zhang Z. 2020. Crop types have stronger effects on soil microbial communities and functionalities than biochar or fertilizer during two cycles of legume-cereal rotations of dry land. Science of the Total Environment, 715: 136958. (2020)
• Azeem M, Hayat R, Hussain Q, Ahmed M, Pan G, Tahir MI, Imran M, Mehmood-ul-Hassan, Irfan M. 2019. Biochar improves soil quality and N 2 -fixation and reduces net ecosystem CO 2 exchange in a dryland legume-cereal cropping system. Soil and Tillage Research. 186:172-182. (2019)

• President's International Fellowship for Internationals (2021-2022), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China (2022)
• HEC Indigenous Scholarship for Ph.D. studies (2012-2015), Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (2015)
• HEC-IRSIP (International Research Support Initiative Program) to conduct research at the University of California, Riverside, USA (2014-2015) (2015)
• Vice-Chancellor Talent Scholarship awarded during M.Sc. (Hons.) Soil Science in Fall Semester 2009 and Fall Semester 2011 (2011)