Enhanced efficiency fertilisers for agricultural sustainability and environmental quality. Expected benefits will come from reduced environmental impact and improved profitability of farming. These include: demonstrably reduced emissions of nitrogen gases (nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas), nitric oxide (ozone active), and ammonia (a pollutant and secondary greenhouse gas); less nitrate leaching, soil acidification and nitrogen contamination of water resources; increased flexibility in timing and ....Enhanced efficiency fertilisers for agricultural sustainability and environmental quality. Expected benefits will come from reduced environmental impact and improved profitability of farming. These include: demonstrably reduced emissions of nitrogen gases (nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas), nitric oxide (ozone active), and ammonia (a pollutant and secondary greenhouse gas); less nitrate leaching, soil acidification and nitrogen contamination of water resources; increased flexibility in timing and method of fertiliser application; reduced requirement for nitrogen fertiliser, and; helping farmers adapt to future climatic and elevated CO2 conditions. These outcomes will significantly improve and help protect the future financial and environmental conditions of rural Australia, and improve our national greenhouse account. Read moreRead less
Combating subsoil acidity for sustainable production through managing plant cation-anion uptake. At least 50 million hectares of topsoil and 23 million ha of subsoil of Australian land are presently affected by acidity, with this area expanding due to the ongoing processes of acidification. Surface liming is ineffective in neutralizing subsoil acidity. The project will develop an innovative method that stimulates root proliferation and ameliorates subsoil acidity through manipulating the balance ....Combating subsoil acidity for sustainable production through managing plant cation-anion uptake. At least 50 million hectares of topsoil and 23 million ha of subsoil of Australian land are presently affected by acidity, with this area expanding due to the ongoing processes of acidification. Surface liming is ineffective in neutralizing subsoil acidity. The project will develop an innovative method that stimulates root proliferation and ameliorates subsoil acidity through manipulating the balance of nutrient uptake by plants. The effects of the developed method on nutrient use efficiency and leaching loss, and crop yields will be quantified under different soil types and climatic conditions.Read moreRead less
Role of stubble management in improving soil fertility. In highly-weathered nutrient-poor soils of the south-western Australia, the amount of nutrients in stubble is critical in nutrient cycling as well as in determining optimal amounts of fertilisers to be applied. Stubble management is therefore an integral part of crop fertilisation and nutrient management. We will characterise nutrient cycling in the stubble-soil-crop continuum in a range of cropping situations. Computer modelling will be us ....Role of stubble management in improving soil fertility. In highly-weathered nutrient-poor soils of the south-western Australia, the amount of nutrients in stubble is critical in nutrient cycling as well as in determining optimal amounts of fertilisers to be applied. Stubble management is therefore an integral part of crop fertilisation and nutrient management. We will characterise nutrient cycling in the stubble-soil-crop continuum in a range of cropping situations. Computer modelling will be used to extend applicability of results over space and time. This project will provide the knowledge required for improving fertiliser recommendations to take into account changes in the cropping systems that have occurred in the last 10-20 years.Read moreRead less
Conservation tillage and its potential to affect catchment salt and water balances. Replacement of deep-rooted vegetation with shallow rooted crops has resulted in greater movement of water into groundwater systems, raising in groundwater level and mobilizing salt to the land's surface. The practice of conservation tillage, provides a range of advantages to landholders, but also has the potential to accentuate the risk of salinisation because it increases water infiltration into the soil surfac ....Conservation tillage and its potential to affect catchment salt and water balances. Replacement of deep-rooted vegetation with shallow rooted crops has resulted in greater movement of water into groundwater systems, raising in groundwater level and mobilizing salt to the land's surface. The practice of conservation tillage, provides a range of advantages to landholders, but also has the potential to accentuate the risk of salinisation because it increases water infiltration into the soil surface. This project aims to evaluate the impact of conservation tillage on soil salt profiles in the Condamine-Balonne and Border Rivers Catchments, and to model will the effect of changed landscape salt and water balances on river water quality.Read moreRead less
Managing subsoil constraints for increased productivity and water use efficiency. Subsoil constraints limit crop production in up to 60% of agricultural land. This project examines the impacts of organic matter incoporation, deep placement of nutrients, use of primer crops, calcium addition and their combination on amelioration of subsoil constraints and thereby on the improvement of root growth, water use and crop yield in high-rainfall region. The best-bet management strategy will be developed ....Managing subsoil constraints for increased productivity and water use efficiency. Subsoil constraints limit crop production in up to 60% of agricultural land. This project examines the impacts of organic matter incoporation, deep placement of nutrients, use of primer crops, calcium addition and their combination on amelioration of subsoil constraints and thereby on the improvement of root growth, water use and crop yield in high-rainfall region. The best-bet management strategy will be developed.Read moreRead less
Saltland pastures in Southern Australia - opportunities for carbon sequestration and salinity management. Expanding areas of dryland salinity now seem inevitable in southern Australia. There is good evidence that productive saltland pastures can be developed on these areas, and there are opportunities to use these pastures for gaining carbon credits. The present study will account for the effects of saltland pasture establishment and management on carbon sequestration and for greenhouse gas emis ....Saltland pastures in Southern Australia - opportunities for carbon sequestration and salinity management. Expanding areas of dryland salinity now seem inevitable in southern Australia. There is good evidence that productive saltland pastures can be developed on these areas, and there are opportunities to use these pastures for gaining carbon credits. The present study will account for the effects of saltland pasture establishment and management on carbon sequestration and for greenhouse gas emissions from their saline, waterlogged soils. Budgets of carbon sequestration on saltland pastures will be critical evidence for Article 3.4 negotiations under the Kyoto Agreement. Scaled-up estimates of the carbon sequestered will account for site factors, composition of pastures and grazing.Read moreRead less