Forecasting soil conditions. Not knowing where and how soil responds to climate change and human intervention compromises food, water, climate and energy security. Currently there is a lack of soil process knowledge and data infrastructure collectively causing significant uncertainty and risk in the assessments of key threats to soil. The project devises a transformational digital soil model to forecast where and how soil pH and carbon will change in New South Wales. Tested on sites within Au ....Forecasting soil conditions. Not knowing where and how soil responds to climate change and human intervention compromises food, water, climate and energy security. Currently there is a lack of soil process knowledge and data infrastructure collectively causing significant uncertainty and risk in the assessments of key threats to soil. The project devises a transformational digital soil model to forecast where and how soil pH and carbon will change in New South Wales. Tested on sites within Australia, the model will give insight on the drivers of change and will provide a unique analysis of the effect of climate change and land management on the dynamics of soil.Read moreRead less
Unravelling soil carbon response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems. This project aims to reveal the continental pattern of soil carbon (C) response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems across Australia and to unravel the biogeochemical mechanisms underlying fire’s role in shaping the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. Fire has modified over 40% of the Earth’s land surface and wildfire frequency is predicted to increase under global warming. This project expects to generate new k ....Unravelling soil carbon response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems. This project aims to reveal the continental pattern of soil carbon (C) response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems across Australia and to unravel the biogeochemical mechanisms underlying fire’s role in shaping the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. Fire has modified over 40% of the Earth’s land surface and wildfire frequency is predicted to increase under global warming. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how fire influences soil-to-atmosphere C fluxes in a warmer climate using a multi-disciplinary approach. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to predict the terrestrial ecosystem-to-atmosphere C fluxes and their feedbacks to climate under increasing frequency of fire using Earth-system models. Read moreRead less
Developing a novel carbon negative fertiliser . Food security is vital to support our growing population. However, our increasing reliance on intensive farming systems necessitates increased fertiliser use, leading to increased water pollution and soil degradation - threatening both the Australian environment and food security. Increasing carbon storage capacity by soil and decreasing fertiliser use are two of the primary pathways for restoring the bio-support capacity of soils and reducing farm ....Developing a novel carbon negative fertiliser . Food security is vital to support our growing population. However, our increasing reliance on intensive farming systems necessitates increased fertiliser use, leading to increased water pollution and soil degradation - threatening both the Australian environment and food security. Increasing carbon storage capacity by soil and decreasing fertiliser use are two of the primary pathways for restoring the bio-support capacity of soils and reducing farming footprints. This innovative and first-of-its-kind project aims to develop a cost-effective, carbon negative fertiliser that reduces fertiliser inputs and increases soil carbon storageRead moreRead less
Carbon dioxide in water nanoemulsions for carbon sequestration. The project will address a key objection to geological carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration by removing the risk of long-term leakage to drinking water aquifers or to atmosphere. By injecting a nano-emulsion of CO2-in-water, the project seeks to show complete reaction to permanently stable solid carbonate occurs within weeks, eliminating the need for secure caprock or extended seal integrity monitoring. New knowledge will be generated ....Carbon dioxide in water nanoemulsions for carbon sequestration. The project will address a key objection to geological carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration by removing the risk of long-term leakage to drinking water aquifers or to atmosphere. By injecting a nano-emulsion of CO2-in-water, the project seeks to show complete reaction to permanently stable solid carbonate occurs within weeks, eliminating the need for secure caprock or extended seal integrity monitoring. New knowledge will be generated using innovative approaches to create and stabilise CO2-in-water nano-emulsions and demonstrate the fast conversion of CO2 into stable minerals. The benefits are significant in opening potential sequestration targets to include areas without secure caps, reduced cost and elimination of long-term leakage riskRead moreRead less
Carbon in - carbon out: can carbon inputs keep up with losses in peatland? This project aims to quantify the current and predict the future carbon balance of a high altitude, carbon-dense ecosystem, namely sub-alpine grassy peatland, by measuring how environmental variables including experimental warming control the fluxes of carbon and water into and out of the system. In this way, this project will produce new knowledge on the susceptibility of high-altitude peaty soils to climate change. Expe ....Carbon in - carbon out: can carbon inputs keep up with losses in peatland? This project aims to quantify the current and predict the future carbon balance of a high altitude, carbon-dense ecosystem, namely sub-alpine grassy peatland, by measuring how environmental variables including experimental warming control the fluxes of carbon and water into and out of the system. In this way, this project will produce new knowledge on the susceptibility of high-altitude peaty soils to climate change. Expected outcomes include an enhanced ability to predict future carbon accumulation rates and the resilience of the vital water-storage and filtration services provided by these systems. This project will enhance outputs from new infrastructure and assist planning for future flood and drought management across SE Australia.Read moreRead less
Building insights of our largest terrestrial carbon sink: rangelands soils. Rangelands soils represent Australia’s largest carbon sink. Yet, little is known about their potential for carbon sequestration or their vulnerability to climate and environmental change. This project leverages investments in national terrestrial observation platforms and integrates previous research outputs to develop new methods to measure and build understanding of soil carbon composition and dynamics in rangeland eco ....Building insights of our largest terrestrial carbon sink: rangelands soils. Rangelands soils represent Australia’s largest carbon sink. Yet, little is known about their potential for carbon sequestration or their vulnerability to climate and environmental change. This project leverages investments in national terrestrial observation platforms and integrates previous research outputs to develop new methods to measure and build understanding of soil carbon composition and dynamics in rangeland ecosystems. Under a framework that connects detailed measurements and small-scale processes, with machine-learning, data-model assimilation and large-scale next-generation biogeochemical modelling, it’ll allow more accurate predictions of soil carbon change and better decision-making to guide sustainable rangelands management.Read moreRead less
Synergising pedodiversity and biodiversity to secure soil functionality. This project aims to understand the coupling between soil physical, chemical and biological diversity at a range of scales and land uses across New South Wales and its relationship with soil functioning. Soil diversity with its coupled biodiversity is crucial for conservation of sustainable ecosystems. Soil diversity varies on a continuum from microbial habitats to elds, catchments and regions. This project will enhance ou ....Synergising pedodiversity and biodiversity to secure soil functionality. This project aims to understand the coupling between soil physical, chemical and biological diversity at a range of scales and land uses across New South Wales and its relationship with soil functioning. Soil diversity with its coupled biodiversity is crucial for conservation of sustainable ecosystems. Soil diversity varies on a continuum from microbial habitats to elds, catchments and regions. This project will enhance our ability to understand the drivers of soil change through time, critical for minimising loss of biodiversity, achieving food and soil security and inferring effects of climate change.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the anchors of soil organic carbon to manage climate change. Soil is the largest reservoir of terrestrial organic carbon. Most of the organic carbon in soils is preserved by association with minerals, however, the composition and stability of mineral-associated organic carbon remain poorly understood. The project will use novel and emerging techniques to discover the composition of organic carbon and stability of organic carbon present in mineral-organic associations in representative ....Unlocking the anchors of soil organic carbon to manage climate change. Soil is the largest reservoir of terrestrial organic carbon. Most of the organic carbon in soils is preserved by association with minerals, however, the composition and stability of mineral-associated organic carbon remain poorly understood. The project will use novel and emerging techniques to discover the composition of organic carbon and stability of organic carbon present in mineral-organic associations in representative Australian soils. Expected outcomes include new knowledge necessary for emerging global carbon cycling models and improve future climate projections. Read moreRead less