Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will ....Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will resolve the roles of environmental drivers of soil respiration across forests; integrate mechanistic understanding of differing plant and microbial responses to temperature within a common modelling framework; and evaluate the implications of this knowledge in predictions of climatic impacts on terrestrial carbon cycling.Read moreRead less
Hydraulic control on water use, growth and survival in tropical rainforest. This project aims to measure drought-related limits to water transport in the woody xylem tissue of trees in Australian tropical rainforests, to understand how this influences tree water use, photosynthesis, health and mortality risk. Tropical rainforests are sensitive to climate variability, especially drought, but this sensitivity is poorly understood, despite large effects regionally and globally. This project will co ....Hydraulic control on water use, growth and survival in tropical rainforest. This project aims to measure drought-related limits to water transport in the woody xylem tissue of trees in Australian tropical rainforests, to understand how this influences tree water use, photosynthesis, health and mortality risk. Tropical rainforests are sensitive to climate variability, especially drought, but this sensitivity is poorly understood, despite large effects regionally and globally. This project will compare forests that contrast strongly in seasonal drought stress, and use the information to develop a model designed for species-diverse forest, with subsequent potential global application. The understanding gained will enable widely applicable advances designed to feed through rapidly to regional- and global-scale models that inform land use, economic and social policy-making.Read moreRead less
Forecasting live fuel moisture content, the on/off switch for forest fire. Dry forest fuels are a precursor of large bushfires. This research aims to develop, for the first time, a model to reliably forecast the moisture content of live fuels (e.g. the foliage and fine branches of shrubs and trees). This will be achieved by combining (i) satellite-derived estimates of live fuel moisture content, (ii) forecasts of soil moisture, and (iii) plant physiological responses to soil dryness. Forecasts o ....Forecasting live fuel moisture content, the on/off switch for forest fire. Dry forest fuels are a precursor of large bushfires. This research aims to develop, for the first time, a model to reliably forecast the moisture content of live fuels (e.g. the foliage and fine branches of shrubs and trees). This will be achieved by combining (i) satellite-derived estimates of live fuel moisture content, (ii) forecasts of soil moisture, and (iii) plant physiological responses to soil dryness. Forecasts of live fuel moisture content will deliver an early warning system of the risk of bushfires. These forecasts will also facilitate improved planning of prescribed burns: if fuels are too dry there is a risk of burns escaping, conversely, if fuels are too wet there is a risk that burns will fail to meet objectives.Read moreRead less
Diatom silica production under future ocean conditions, genes to biomes. This project aims to quantify how ocean warming and acidification will alter natural diatom assemblages and silica production rates to predict changes in the cycling and transfer of carbon and silicon in the future ocean. This project expects to generate new knowledge of environmental controls on diatom silicification and their ocean-scale implications by integrating the disciplines of physiology, molecular biology and quan ....Diatom silica production under future ocean conditions, genes to biomes. This project aims to quantify how ocean warming and acidification will alter natural diatom assemblages and silica production rates to predict changes in the cycling and transfer of carbon and silicon in the future ocean. This project expects to generate new knowledge of environmental controls on diatom silicification and their ocean-scale implications by integrating the disciplines of physiology, molecular biology and quantitative modelling. Expected outcomes include essential advancements in future simulations of marine productivity and silicon cycling and a deeper understanding of threats to marine life from climate change. This should provide significant benefits such as improved valuations on the sustainability of ocean ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Understanding the mechanisms of thermal acclimation in the symbiotic algae (Symbiodinium) within cnidarian corals. Global warming is a major threat to coral reefs, contributing to devastating coral bleaching. This project will provide new insight into how coral reefs can respond to rising global temperature through clarifying the thermal acclimation mechanisms in corals using molecular techniques.
Coping with temperature extremes: morphological constraints on leaf function in a warmer, drier climate. This project will determine how hydraulic properties of temperate, evergreen leaves affect their capacity to cope with seasonal variation in temperature extremes. The results will enhance mechanistic understanding of temperature tolerance, and inform prediction of vegetation change in response to climate warming and increasing CO2 concentrations.
Phenotypic plasticity in plants: evolution, adaptation and its relevance in a changing climate. Plants are highly responsive to the conditions under which they grow, but the combination of conditions they experience will be altered by climate change. This research into plant responses to novel environments posed by climate change will assess whether we can breed for more responsive crops or predict native plant tolerance of climate change.
Top-down rehydration: role of multiple water sources in mangrove function. This project aims to combine cutting-edge analytical and imaging techniques to assess contributions of atmospheric water sources to shoot-water balances, identify leaf traits associated with top-down rehydration, and determine the relative importance of different sources of water used by mangroves in maintenance of photosynthetic carbon assimilation along natural gradients in salinity and aridity. The capacity of shoots ....Top-down rehydration: role of multiple water sources in mangrove function. This project aims to combine cutting-edge analytical and imaging techniques to assess contributions of atmospheric water sources to shoot-water balances, identify leaf traits associated with top-down rehydration, and determine the relative importance of different sources of water used by mangroves in maintenance of photosynthetic carbon assimilation along natural gradients in salinity and aridity. The capacity of shoots to absorb atmospheric water could profoundly affect the diversity, survival and productivity of mangroves where high soil salinity limits water uptake by roots, particularly during hot, dry conditions.Read moreRead less
Role of top-down-rehydration in drought tolerance of mangroves. This project aims to understand the role of absorption and storage of atmospheric water (vapour, mist, rain, dew) by shoots in survival of mangroves where high soil salinity limits root water uptake, particularly during hot, dry conditions. This research will advance understanding of drought and salinity tolerance. The project outcomes will include identification of environmental conditions that limit drought survival and functional ....Role of top-down-rehydration in drought tolerance of mangroves. This project aims to understand the role of absorption and storage of atmospheric water (vapour, mist, rain, dew) by shoots in survival of mangroves where high soil salinity limits root water uptake, particularly during hot, dry conditions. This research will advance understanding of drought and salinity tolerance. The project outcomes will include identification of environmental conditions that limit drought survival and functional plant traits that enhance drought survival. These outcomes are fundamental to interpreting mechanisms underlying mangrove dieback under drought and will benefit the development of process-based models for better prediction of mangrove responses to climate change.Read moreRead less
To grow or to store: Do plants hedge their bets? This project aims to resolve a long-standing question about the function of perennial plants: how much of the carbon taken up by photosynthesis is used immediately for growth, and how much is kept in reserve as insurance against future stress? This question is important to our understanding of how plants respond to stresses such as severe drought, and yet lack of data and theoretical modelling currently hampers our ability to answer it. By applyin ....To grow or to store: Do plants hedge their bets? This project aims to resolve a long-standing question about the function of perennial plants: how much of the carbon taken up by photosynthesis is used immediately for growth, and how much is kept in reserve as insurance against future stress? This question is important to our understanding of how plants respond to stresses such as severe drought, and yet lack of data and theoretical modelling currently hampers our ability to answer it. By applying novel data analysis and modelling tools to recent experimental results, the project plans to test hypotheses for how plants allocate carbon between growth and storage in response to stress. Insights from the project may underpin better management of Australia’s vulnerable ecosystems.Read moreRead less