Role of organic matter in soil pH change in agro-ecosystems. Over 50 million hectares of arable lands in Australia are affected by soil acidity. Acidity-affected lands continue to expand due to the ongoing process of acidification under current farming practices. The project will provide new knowledge essential for the improved use and management of organic matter to minimize or reverse soil acidification and increase carbon sequestration in farming systems. The associated reduction of soil aci ....Role of organic matter in soil pH change in agro-ecosystems. Over 50 million hectares of arable lands in Australia are affected by soil acidity. Acidity-affected lands continue to expand due to the ongoing process of acidification under current farming practices. The project will provide new knowledge essential for the improved use and management of organic matter to minimize or reverse soil acidification and increase carbon sequestration in farming systems. The associated reduction of soil acidification will also minimise the negative impact of nutrient and water losses on the environment. Growers will benefit from the project through improved soil fertility and crop production, and sustainable land use. Read moreRead less
Assessing soil formation and erosion balances in the Top End with an expanded toolkit. This work is timely as it will provide the tools and the data to assess the sustainability with regard to soil loss of potential agricultural development in the Top End of Australia. With food-growing areas in southern Australia under stress from a prolonged drought, the Federal Government has established a Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce to explore the potential of the Top End for agricultural and ....Assessing soil formation and erosion balances in the Top End with an expanded toolkit. This work is timely as it will provide the tools and the data to assess the sustainability with regard to soil loss of potential agricultural development in the Top End of Australia. With food-growing areas in southern Australia under stress from a prolonged drought, the Federal Government has established a Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce to explore the potential of the Top End for agricultural and other development. A key component of its brief is that development must be sustainable. The economic consequences of increased agriculture in the North are likely to be profound, and the findings of this research will be crucial to success.Read moreRead less
Theoretically derived calibration of the neutron moisture meter. The moisture content of soils is of key importance in a wide range of situations including agriculture, engineering and land and water management. The measurement of soil moisture contents in the field is problematic, and even commonly used methods like the neutron probe give results of limited accuracy. This research will enable calibration curves for the neutron probe to be determined theoretically, thereby improving the accuracy ....Theoretically derived calibration of the neutron moisture meter. The moisture content of soils is of key importance in a wide range of situations including agriculture, engineering and land and water management. The measurement of soil moisture contents in the field is problematic, and even commonly used methods like the neutron probe give results of limited accuracy. This research will enable calibration curves for the neutron probe to be determined theoretically, thereby improving the accuracy of moisture content measurements and enhancing its usefulness to industry and research.Read moreRead less
Production and transport of soil and sediments, determined by cosmogenic radionuclides and noble gases. Basic questions concerning Australia's soil and regolith resources are addressed through measurement of nuclides produced by cosmic rays in near-surface minerals. Cosmogenic Be-10, Ne-21 and Al-26 are used to (i) quantify the sustainable levels of soil loss, (ii) assess long-term mixing rates, (iii) quantify dispersion and flux of regolith materials from hill-slopes to rivers, and (iv) determi ....Production and transport of soil and sediments, determined by cosmogenic radionuclides and noble gases. Basic questions concerning Australia's soil and regolith resources are addressed through measurement of nuclides produced by cosmic rays in near-surface minerals. Cosmogenic Be-10, Ne-21 and Al-26 are used to (i) quantify the sustainable levels of soil loss, (ii) assess long-term mixing rates, (iii) quantify dispersion and flux of regolith materials from hill-slopes to rivers, and (iv) determine the rates of sediment movement through Australian rivers and floodplains, including sediment-adsorbed pollutants. The research has strong implications for the usage and conservation of soil, sediments and weathered deposits for agriculture, mineral resources, and sedimentary waste disposal.Read moreRead less
Towards a Molecular-Scale Understanding of Sorption of Organic Pollutants to Soil. The toxicity, mobility and persistence of organic pollutants in soils are in large part controlled by their sorption to soil organic matter. The chemical nature or quality of the organic matter affects not only the amount of chemical sorbed, but also the reversibility of sorption and the rate of sorption and desorption. Until now, only bulk measures of soil organic matter chemistry have been considered in sorption ....Towards a Molecular-Scale Understanding of Sorption of Organic Pollutants to Soil. The toxicity, mobility and persistence of organic pollutants in soils are in large part controlled by their sorption to soil organic matter. The chemical nature or quality of the organic matter affects not only the amount of chemical sorbed, but also the reversibility of sorption and the rate of sorption and desorption. Until now, only bulk measures of soil organic matter chemistry have been considered in sorption studies. This project introduces novel spectroscopic techniques that for the first time identify the chemical environment of sorbed molecules at the molecular scale. This will enable better prediction of pollutant transport and degradation.Read moreRead less
How do soils grow? Modelling soil development in the landscape. This project addresses the fundamental environmental issue of land degradation in Australia. The environment is both sensitive and diverse with uses from intensive agriculture, grazing, to large scale industrial. This project will build a model that will enable us to understand how soil forms and landscape evolves with time, to reconstruct the history of soil. The model will allow us to make the Australian populous aware of the frag ....How do soils grow? Modelling soil development in the landscape. This project addresses the fundamental environmental issue of land degradation in Australia. The environment is both sensitive and diverse with uses from intensive agriculture, grazing, to large scale industrial. This project will build a model that will enable us to understand how soil forms and landscape evolves with time, to reconstruct the history of soil. The model will allow us to make the Australian populous aware of the fragility of soil formation. This will lead to greater social awareness of our precarious position on the Australian landscape.Read moreRead less
Control of actin assembly by cell-cell adhesion: molecular effectors and higher order function. Functional cooperation between the actin cytoskeleton and cadherin cell-cell adhesion molecules plays critical roles during development and morphogenesis. This proposal builds on my lab's recent discovery that E-cadherin interacts with and regulates the Arp2/3 actin nucleator complex, a central determinant of actin assembly in cells. We will explore key implications of this finding, concentrating on d ....Control of actin assembly by cell-cell adhesion: molecular effectors and higher order function. Functional cooperation between the actin cytoskeleton and cadherin cell-cell adhesion molecules plays critical roles during development and morphogenesis. This proposal builds on my lab's recent discovery that E-cadherin interacts with and regulates the Arp2/3 actin nucleator complex, a central determinant of actin assembly in cells. We will explore key implications of this finding, concentrating on defining the molecular mechanisms that regulate Arp2/3 and actin assembly in cadherin-based adhesion. Our work combines molecular characterization of regulatory mechanisms and proteomic searches for new regulators, with tests of the higher-order function of this novel process in cell adhesion and recognition.Read moreRead less
Balancing cadherin-actin cooperation: the key regulatory role of Ena/VASP proteins. This project analyses a fundamental mechanism of how cells work together in tissues. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of how cells work will provide important basic scientific information to enrich the scientific expertise in Australia and its part in the international community, generate insights relevant for understanding human disease and physical degeneration, and support the training of young scienti ....Balancing cadherin-actin cooperation: the key regulatory role of Ena/VASP proteins. This project analyses a fundamental mechanism of how cells work together in tissues. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of how cells work will provide important basic scientific information to enrich the scientific expertise in Australia and its part in the international community, generate insights relevant for understanding human disease and physical degeneration, and support the training of young scientists in Australia.Read moreRead less
Devising a methodology for the digital soil map of the world. Soil mapping is a key part of land-resource assessment for sustainable environmental management. The output will enable the use of soil data and information to give a clear understanding of the status of, and changes in, the nation's land, vegetation and water resources and implications for their sustainable use. This global good will be used by district agricultural extension workers, and policy decision makers in developing countri ....Devising a methodology for the digital soil map of the world. Soil mapping is a key part of land-resource assessment for sustainable environmental management. The output will enable the use of soil data and information to give a clear understanding of the status of, and changes in, the nation's land, vegetation and water resources and implications for their sustainable use. This global good will be used by district agricultural extension workers, and policy decision makers in developing countries to assist in improved crop production and sustainable land management. Read moreRead less
Evaluating the role of buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. The role of vegetative buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies is well established, but the physical processes and their interactions involved are not well understood. These hydraulic, sediment/chemical transport processes will be modelled from physical principles, recognising that the multi-size characteristics of soil plays a vital role in buffer strip effec ....Evaluating the role of buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. The role of vegetative buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies is well established, but the physical processes and their interactions involved are not well understood. These hydraulic, sediment/chemical transport processes will be modelled from physical principles, recognising that the multi-size characteristics of soil plays a vital role in buffer strip effectiveness. This model will be validated using new and existing data sources, including both controlled experiments and field data obtained in Australia and overseas. A user friendly version of the model will be developed for farm managers and advisory services as a design tool.Read moreRead less