Understanding reaction products of granular and fluid P fertilisers in Australian soils: a way to enhance fertiliser efficiency. Despite posing significant challenges for crop P nutrition, alkaline soils are widespread in Australia and their agricultural use accounts for a significant fraction of the crop production nationwide. The benefits of fluid fertilizers over conventional granular products in these soils has been agronomically demonstrated. Knowledge of the behaviour of these products, pr ....Understanding reaction products of granular and fluid P fertilisers in Australian soils: a way to enhance fertiliser efficiency. Despite posing significant challenges for crop P nutrition, alkaline soils are widespread in Australia and their agricultural use accounts for a significant fraction of the crop production nationwide. The benefits of fluid fertilizers over conventional granular products in these soils has been agronomically demonstrated. Knowledge of the behaviour of these products, provided through an understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and reactions occurring, is critical to improve crop productivity. This project aims to study the reactions of fluid and granular fertilizers in soils using advanced spectroscopic and isotopic techniques, in order to provide a scientific basis for improving formulations and effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Reducing export of acid sulfate soil products (particularly iron, aluminium, phosphorus, and organic carbon) as contaminants to coastal waters. Current Australian management of acid sulfate soils (ASS) emphasises the reduction of acidity in floodplain drainage. However this acidity is mainly from the dissolved metals, which can be increased by some management techniques. Dissolved metals can be biotoxic or encourage harmful coastal phytoplankton. Organic metal complexes can increase metal tran ....Reducing export of acid sulfate soil products (particularly iron, aluminium, phosphorus, and organic carbon) as contaminants to coastal waters. Current Australian management of acid sulfate soils (ASS) emphasises the reduction of acidity in floodplain drainage. However this acidity is mainly from the dissolved metals, which can be increased by some management techniques. Dissolved metals can be biotoxic or encourage harmful coastal phytoplankton. Organic metal complexes can increase metal transport but shading of soil and drain surfaces, and constructed wetlands offers a new management tool. Our research aims to reduce transport to coastal waters of these ASS products. A sustainable Australian coast requires that improvement of ASS floodplains must not be at the environmental expense of coastal waters. Read moreRead less
Links between carbon and nitrogen cycling processes in forest soils: An innovative approach with both NMR and stable isotope techniques. Understanding the critical links between soil carbon and nitrogen cycling processes in forest ecosystems is necessary for developing effective site management to enhance forest productivity and environmental benefits. In the first application of 14N-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to soil humic acid (HA), we have discovered that surprisingly nitrate-N is prese ....Links between carbon and nitrogen cycling processes in forest soils: An innovative approach with both NMR and stable isotope techniques. Understanding the critical links between soil carbon and nitrogen cycling processes in forest ecosystems is necessary for developing effective site management to enhance forest productivity and environmental benefits. In the first application of 14N-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to soil humic acid (HA), we have discovered that surprisingly nitrate-N is present in soil HAs, with the HA-nitrate N extremely sensitive to forest management practices. This project represents the first attempt to integrate the use of advanced NMR and stable isotope techniques to examine both chemical and biological linkages between carbon and nitrogen cycling processes in Australian and US forest ecosystems.Read moreRead less
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
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354511
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Soil Acidification, the Environment and Production. Soil acidification affects 50% of Australia's agricultural land and is the most important economic constraint to agricultural. In addition, major external offsite impacts include greenhouse gas emissions, reduced stream and ground water health, reduced biodiversity, increased salinity and waterlogging and infrastructure damage. The aim of this network is to quantify the acidification processes and the connection of these processes to the offsit ....Soil Acidification, the Environment and Production. Soil acidification affects 50% of Australia's agricultural land and is the most important economic constraint to agricultural. In addition, major external offsite impacts include greenhouse gas emissions, reduced stream and ground water health, reduced biodiversity, increased salinity and waterlogging and infrastructure damage. The aim of this network is to quantify the acidification processes and the connection of these processes to the offsite impacts. This will lead to development of strategic plans for acidified and potential acid soils and associate offsite impacts, as well as identifying knowledge gaps and building research and policy synergies. Read moreRead less
The nature and ecological functions of soil soluble organic nitrogen in contrasting forest ecosystems. This project employs a series of innovative techniques to investigate the dynamic nature and ecological significance of soil soluble organic nitrogen - one of the important nutrient pools, in contrasting tropical, subtropical and temperate forest ecosystems. The successful conduct of this project will lead to: a) better fertilization recommendation schemes, reduced ecosystem N losses, improved ....The nature and ecological functions of soil soluble organic nitrogen in contrasting forest ecosystems. This project employs a series of innovative techniques to investigate the dynamic nature and ecological significance of soil soluble organic nitrogen - one of the important nutrient pools, in contrasting tropical, subtropical and temperate forest ecosystems. The successful conduct of this project will lead to: a) better fertilization recommendation schemes, reduced ecosystem N losses, improved forest productivity and sustainability, minimised environmental pollution and improved water quality in forested watersheds; b) effective conservation of biodiversity in both managed and natural forests; and c) enhanced international cooperation and reputation of the Australian scientists in the relevant research fields.Read moreRead less
The potential of biosolids and flyash mixtures for soil remediation for revegetation of degraded land. Revegetation of land that has been subjected to land clearing or mining is often limited by the poor quality or lack of topsoil. It may prove possible to remediate these areas of land by incorporating a mixture of two waste products, biosolids and flyash. The aim in this project is to determine the usefulness of this method of land remediation by investigating the nutrient levels and fate of co ....The potential of biosolids and flyash mixtures for soil remediation for revegetation of degraded land. Revegetation of land that has been subjected to land clearing or mining is often limited by the poor quality or lack of topsoil. It may prove possible to remediate these areas of land by incorporating a mixture of two waste products, biosolids and flyash. The aim in this project is to determine the usefulness of this method of land remediation by investigating the nutrient levels and fate of contaminants in various mixtures of biosolids and flyash materials, in the absence and presence of soil minerals, and soil ameliorants such as fertilizers and gypsum.Read moreRead less
How does warming prevent soil nitrogen availability from declining in response to elevated CO2? The sustainable use of the terrestrial environment depends upon maintaining ecosystem productivity which in turn depends upon nutrient availability within the soil. Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are known to decrease nutrient availability while warming prevents this from happening. The aims of this project are to determine how warming is able to prevent elevated CO2 concentrations from re ....How does warming prevent soil nitrogen availability from declining in response to elevated CO2? The sustainable use of the terrestrial environment depends upon maintaining ecosystem productivity which in turn depends upon nutrient availability within the soil. Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are known to decrease nutrient availability while warming prevents this from happening. The aims of this project are to determine how warming is able to prevent elevated CO2 concentrations from reducing soil N availability and hence productivity in a native grassland ecosystems. This is important, as it will allow likely problems caused by global climate change to be predicted by increasing the understanding of the underlying mechanisms as well as improving the management of grasslands in an environmentally sustainable way. 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
Explaining the interactions between drought and fertiliser use efficiency using tracing and imaging techniques. With climate change, Australian agriculture is faced with periods of increasing drought and changing rainfall patterns. At the same time, Australian farmers are faced with increasing costs of fertiliser inputs (their largest variable input cost), yet have little information on how they should change their nutrient management programs to suit the changing climatic conditions. This proje ....Explaining the interactions between drought and fertiliser use efficiency using tracing and imaging techniques. With climate change, Australian agriculture is faced with periods of increasing drought and changing rainfall patterns. At the same time, Australian farmers are faced with increasing costs of fertiliser inputs (their largest variable input cost), yet have little information on how they should change their nutrient management programs to suit the changing climatic conditions. This project aims to determine the effect of drought and rainfall patterns on the efficiency of fertiliser use by crops, through examination of the effects of soil moisture conditions on the interaction between soil and added fertilisers. Read moreRead less