Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120103022
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Generalising a root-water uptake mechanism for successful land surface modelling. Understanding root functioning in Australian savanna ecosystems is critically important for successful resource management but such understanding is not represented in land surface models (LSMs). This project will incorporate root functioning into LSMs and improve our ability to manage water and carbon natural resources in a changing climate.
Finding damage thresholds in pyrethrum to optimise crop profitability. This project aims to use a new vascular approach to develop a quantitative stress tolerance framework for the crop species pyrethrum, defining the risks to plant production of water, heat and frost stress. Using novel optical and x-ray technology, this project seeks to pinpoint damaging stress thresholds and combine this knowledge with crop monitoring technology in a way that will allow crop managers to avoid damaging stress ....Finding damage thresholds in pyrethrum to optimise crop profitability. This project aims to use a new vascular approach to develop a quantitative stress tolerance framework for the crop species pyrethrum, defining the risks to plant production of water, heat and frost stress. Using novel optical and x-ray technology, this project seeks to pinpoint damaging stress thresholds and combine this knowledge with crop monitoring technology in a way that will allow crop managers to avoid damaging stress events. The intended outcome is to enable the pyrethrum industry, and ultimately a diversity of crop managers, to better utilise new advances in monitoring technology to maximise the benefits of irrigation such that yields are high relative to water use and damage by stress is avoided. Immediate beneficiaries will be the pyrethrum industry, but the research will provide a model, applicable to the multitude of irrigated crops in Australia. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100073
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$280,000.00
Summary
High-throughput sample preparation robotics to enable emerging large-scale plant genomics, metabolomics and proteomics research. Discovering and breeding plants that are best suited for new environmental conditions requires the analysis of many samples to discover the underlying genes, metabolites and proteins. The project will build two robotic instruments that will facilitate the rapid grinding and extraction of plant tissues to facilitate these discoveries across Australia.
Turning water into carbon: a synthesis of plant water-use efficiency from leaf to globe. The efficiency with which plants use water to gain carbon is a fundamental aspect of plant growth that has been frequently measured but is poorly understood. Using our new theory to draw together major datasets, the project will make a dramatic advance in our ability to understand and predict this key aspect of ecosystem function.
Remote sensing of biotic stress with hyperspectral-fluorescence imaging. This project aims to investigate new indicators of crop biotic stress using innovative airborne remote sensing and imaging spectroscopy for biosecurity applications. Current satellites used to monitor crops and forests do not meet the spectral and spatial details that are required for the early -previsual- detection of biotic and abiotic stress. Accordingly, this project's significance focuses on new insights to detect the ....Remote sensing of biotic stress with hyperspectral-fluorescence imaging. This project aims to investigate new indicators of crop biotic stress using innovative airborne remote sensing and imaging spectroscopy for biosecurity applications. Current satellites used to monitor crops and forests do not meet the spectral and spatial details that are required for the early -previsual- detection of biotic and abiotic stress. Accordingly, this project's significance focuses on new insights to detect the alteration of photosynthetic indicators of plant functioning, building on recent breakthroughs with airborne hyperspectral imaging and remote sensing technologies. The outcomes will provide significant benefits to Australia in the detection of harmful diseases and improved water and nutrient monitoring methods.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101143
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
An electrophysiological insight into the role of chloroplasts in stomatal drought signalling. Drought implies a range of stresses with which plants have to cope. Drought is not only a domestic issue for Australian people who live in this dry continent but also significantly affects global food supply and drives climate change. Stomata guard cells exert major controls on global water and carbon cycles. Although the total stomatal pore area may be five per cent of a leaf surface, transpirational w ....An electrophysiological insight into the role of chloroplasts in stomatal drought signalling. Drought implies a range of stresses with which plants have to cope. Drought is not only a domestic issue for Australian people who live in this dry continent but also significantly affects global food supply and drives climate change. Stomata guard cells exert major controls on global water and carbon cycles. Although the total stomatal pore area may be five per cent of a leaf surface, transpirational water loss through the stomata contributes to 70 per cent of total agricultural water usage. As an environmental signal, drought regulates stomatal movements. This project seeks to understand the mechanisms of drought induced molecular retrograde signals and their regulation over stomata. The outcomes will aid the development of strategies for reducing water loss from crops.Read moreRead less
Predicting and improving the productivity of plants in future climates. Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) sustains all terrestrial vegetation, yet the effects of increasing concentrations of this gas on plant productivity are difficult to predict. The project aims to undertake experiments on the leaf-level processes that underpin plant productivity in multiple global vegetation systems. This could enable the development of a new theoretical approach to predicting plant productivity in cha ....Predicting and improving the productivity of plants in future climates. Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) sustains all terrestrial vegetation, yet the effects of increasing concentrations of this gas on plant productivity are difficult to predict. The project aims to undertake experiments on the leaf-level processes that underpin plant productivity in multiple global vegetation systems. This could enable the development of a new theoretical approach to predicting plant productivity in changed environmental circumstances at all scales. The results of this project could provide new tools for understanding the vulnerabilities and sensitivities of natural and managed landscapes under environmental pressures associated with increasing CO2.Read moreRead less
Wealth from water: soil information for new sustainable irrigated agriculture in Tasmania. Key to sustainable irrigation for agricultural production is an understanding of the soil resource. Conventional methods to obtain soil information are outdated and expensive. This project will develop a new strategy to quantitatively assess soil sustainability and to analyse management options thoroughly.
AirLIFT – an airborne active chlorophyll fluorescence sensing system for assessment of photosynthetic activity in plant canopies. Assessment of plant health and productivity is vital to ensure future food security of the global population under a changing climate. Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF), a signal emitted by green plants, can reveal this information. Although CF has revolutionised photosynthetic research, current measurements are limited to individual plants. Remote sensing of canopy CF is ....AirLIFT – an airborne active chlorophyll fluorescence sensing system for assessment of photosynthetic activity in plant canopies. Assessment of plant health and productivity is vital to ensure future food security of the global population under a changing climate. Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF), a signal emitted by green plants, can reveal this information. Although CF has revolutionised photosynthetic research, current measurements are limited to individual plants. Remote sensing of canopy CF is required for efficient management of agricultural crops, forests, and natural ecosystems and is crucial for accurate estimation of plant carbon assimilation and production. This project will deliver remote sensing technology to bridge the gap between leaf and canopy productivity and pave the way for understanding both artificial and solar induced canopy CF measured from space.Read moreRead less