Getting to the root of the matter: predicting plant benefits from arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses. Massive efforts are underway to select beneficial root traits that enhance resource acquisition and productivity. These efforts are usually conducted while excluding mutually beneficial mycorrhizal partnerships, which include two-thirds of higher plants. These efforts are likely to lead to artifactual outcomes unless the modifying effects of these partnerships are considered. While mycorrhization ....Getting to the root of the matter: predicting plant benefits from arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses. Massive efforts are underway to select beneficial root traits that enhance resource acquisition and productivity. These efforts are usually conducted while excluding mutually beneficial mycorrhizal partnerships, which include two-thirds of higher plants. These efforts are likely to lead to artifactual outcomes unless the modifying effects of these partnerships are considered. While mycorrhization can substantially enhance plant vigour, results are often difficult to replicate due to widespread 'context-dependence'. This research will identify plant and fungal traits that predict how mycorrhizal plants benefit under a variety of contexts, which will improve varietal selection and productivity gains in marginal environments.Read moreRead less
Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments ....Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments will also be assessed. The underlying mechanisms will be characterised, eg. by determining metal speciation in soil and assessing soil microbial community composition. The outcome of this project will contribute to sustainable agriculture by giving land managers options to reduce glyphosate damage in sensitive crops.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of soil microbial interactions for increased efficacy of herbicides using novel fertiliser management practices. Soil microbes are essential for nutrient cycling and plant root growth. This project aims to investigate whether herbicides influence soil biological processes when different types of fertilisers are used. It is expected that complex interactions between fertiliser practice and herbicides will alter herbicide efficacy in weed control. This project aims to compare nove ....Characterisation of soil microbial interactions for increased efficacy of herbicides using novel fertiliser management practices. Soil microbes are essential for nutrient cycling and plant root growth. This project aims to investigate whether herbicides influence soil biological processes when different types of fertilisers are used. It is expected that complex interactions between fertiliser practice and herbicides will alter herbicide efficacy in weed control. This project aims to compare novel fertiliser practices claimed to maximise benefits from soil microbial processes with traditional fertiliser practices which can override biological processes, including beneficial plant-microbial symbioses. This will enable a rigorous evaluation of fertiliser-herbicide interactions to clarify whether soil microbial benefits can be included as part of weed control programs.Read moreRead less
Global extent of degraded farm lands and their conservation potential. This project aims to map uncontested lands worldwide and assess their potential contribution to global conservation. Globally the area of agricultural land is shrinking due to environmental degradation, market changes and social trends. In the last 15 years, the area of Australia’s pasture lands steeply declined. Although expensive, restoring degraded lands no longer used for agriculture should offer economic opportunities, h ....Global extent of degraded farm lands and their conservation potential. This project aims to map uncontested lands worldwide and assess their potential contribution to global conservation. Globally the area of agricultural land is shrinking due to environmental degradation, market changes and social trends. In the last 15 years, the area of Australia’s pasture lands steeply declined. Although expensive, restoring degraded lands no longer used for agriculture should offer economic opportunities, help mitigate climate change and involve minimal social or political opposition. The outcome will identify the extent and location of uncontested lands and provide a framework for deciding how best to invest in their regeneration.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101349
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Mechanisms underlying crop pollinator effectiveness in agro-ecosystems. This project aims to understand how pollinators affect fruit quantity and quality. Worldwide, insect pollinators contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem services in production systems, but also cause yield variability in pollinator-dependent crops. Accounting for the combined outcomes of the amount, quality and timing of the pollen transferred by each pollinator visit is a critical but unexplored component of crop pollinati ....Mechanisms underlying crop pollinator effectiveness in agro-ecosystems. This project aims to understand how pollinators affect fruit quantity and quality. Worldwide, insect pollinators contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem services in production systems, but also cause yield variability in pollinator-dependent crops. Accounting for the combined outcomes of the amount, quality and timing of the pollen transferred by each pollinator visit is a critical but unexplored component of crop pollination ecology. This project will quantitatively assess the effectiveness of pollinator communities to determine the importance of pollinator community composition to maximising crop production. This project is expected to protect food resources and economically benefit Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100479
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,582.00
Summary
Delivering defences: using fungi to enhance plant resistance to herbivory. This project will identify how the diversity of beneficial fungi in the soil is affected by agricultural management, and will reveal how these fungi govern the ability of plants to defend themselves from insect herbivores. Through innovative field surveys and experimentation, this project will generate new knowledge in the key areas of soil ecology and plant defence. This will allow us to exploit these soil fungi to enhan ....Delivering defences: using fungi to enhance plant resistance to herbivory. This project will identify how the diversity of beneficial fungi in the soil is affected by agricultural management, and will reveal how these fungi govern the ability of plants to defend themselves from insect herbivores. Through innovative field surveys and experimentation, this project will generate new knowledge in the key areas of soil ecology and plant defence. This will allow us to exploit these soil fungi to enhance crop protection while simultaneously conserving soil ecosystems. Effectively boosting plant defence in this way will reduce reliance on ecologically damaging pesticides, promote soil biodiversity, and ensure the sustainability of crop production into the future. Read moreRead less
Predicting the delivery of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. The ecological sustainability of Australian agriculture relies on services (for example, pollination) provided by ecosystems. Service provision is threatened by environmental change, but there is no established approach for predicting the impact of change on services. This project will undertake the most comprehensive experimental examination of ecosystem-service delivery ever conducted in Australia, testing the predictive ....Predicting the delivery of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. The ecological sustainability of Australian agriculture relies on services (for example, pollination) provided by ecosystems. Service provision is threatened by environmental change, but there is no established approach for predicting the impact of change on services. This project will undertake the most comprehensive experimental examination of ecosystem-service delivery ever conducted in Australia, testing the predictive capacity of an approach that links environmental change with variation in service provision through species’ traits. The major outcomes include greater capacity for agriculturalists to maximise ecosystem benefits and increase economic returns, and improved biodiversity conservation through recognition of its contribution to agriculture. Read moreRead less
Where's the beef? A systems model for taming a wicked environmental problem. Demand for beef is increasing dramatically, particularly in Asia. This project aims to build systems models of local environmental impacts of beef production coupled with models of global beef trade to analyse production and policy scenarios. Beef is the food commodity with the largest ecological footprint, and increased production will have globally significant impacts on land and water resources, biodiversity, and cli ....Where's the beef? A systems model for taming a wicked environmental problem. Demand for beef is increasing dramatically, particularly in Asia. This project aims to build systems models of local environmental impacts of beef production coupled with models of global beef trade to analyse production and policy scenarios. Beef is the food commodity with the largest ecological footprint, and increased production will have globally significant impacts on land and water resources, biodiversity, and climate. The scale of these impacts depends on where and how cattle production occurs. Outcomes of this research include a framework for projecting regional and global ecological impacts of domestic cattle production policies, allowing informed decisions that consider and benefit environmental and socio-economic values.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100144
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$446,548.00
Summary
Linking changes in plant-pollinator networks to plant reproduction. The project aims to investigate how human actions in agricultural landscapes affect the activity of pollinating insects and the consequence for the plants that rely on them for reproduction. The project seeks to reveal how the structure of plant-pollinator networks is related to the reproductive success of plants through the novel application of networks that describe patterns in species interactions. The knowledge gained from t ....Linking changes in plant-pollinator networks to plant reproduction. The project aims to investigate how human actions in agricultural landscapes affect the activity of pollinating insects and the consequence for the plants that rely on them for reproduction. The project seeks to reveal how the structure of plant-pollinator networks is related to the reproductive success of plants through the novel application of networks that describe patterns in species interactions. The knowledge gained from this study will enhance our ability to forecast the effects of insect declines for plant seed production in Australia and the world. The intended benefit is an improved capacity to identify vulnerable plant species and maintain pollination services in managed landscape for both wild and cultivated plant populations.Read moreRead less
Soil microbial indicators for efficient use of nitrification inhibitors. Soil microbial indicators for efficient use of nitrification inhibitors. This project aims to improve understanding of the efficiency and governing factors of nitrification inhibitors in different agricultural soils. Nitrification inhibitors are widely used to improve nitrogen fertiliser efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas nitrous oxide emissions. However, their effectiveness varies across soil types. One possible reason i ....Soil microbial indicators for efficient use of nitrification inhibitors. Soil microbial indicators for efficient use of nitrification inhibitors. This project aims to improve understanding of the efficiency and governing factors of nitrification inhibitors in different agricultural soils. Nitrification inhibitors are widely used to improve nitrogen fertiliser efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas nitrous oxide emissions. However, their effectiveness varies across soil types. One possible reason is the different microbial communities in these soils. The project will address the key knowledge gaps of interactions between the nitrification inhibitors and the soil functional microbial communities. Anticipated outcomes are sound management strategies to improve fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency in Australian agricultural soils.Read moreRead less