Towards sustainable bioproduction systems: harnessing organic nitrogen for plant growth. It is of great concern that over 50% of nitrogen fertiliser applied to crops is lost to the environment, resulting in a large environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emission. Future farming systems have to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use but this threatens crop and biofuel production. Alternatives to man-made nitrogen fertilisers are crop residues and organic materials which are more stable in soils but l ....Towards sustainable bioproduction systems: harnessing organic nitrogen for plant growth. It is of great concern that over 50% of nitrogen fertiliser applied to crops is lost to the environment, resulting in a large environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emission. Future farming systems have to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use but this threatens crop and biofuel production. Alternatives to man-made nitrogen fertilisers are crop residues and organic materials which are more stable in soils but less available to plants. How plants can best access organic nitrogen will be explored, based on our recent discovery that plants can use protein as a nitrogen source for growth. The project will produce essential knowledge for nitrogen-efficient bioproduction.Read moreRead less
Hoop pine nitrogen and water use efficiency: improving the understanding and management with advanced stable isotope, physiological and molecular techniques. This project represents the first attempt to integrate the use of innovative stable isotope, physiological and molecular techniques for improving the understanding and management of genetic and environmental factors regulating hoop pine nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and water use efficiency (WUE). The successful conduct of the project will ....Hoop pine nitrogen and water use efficiency: improving the understanding and management with advanced stable isotope, physiological and molecular techniques. This project represents the first attempt to integrate the use of innovative stable isotope, physiological and molecular techniques for improving the understanding and management of genetic and environmental factors regulating hoop pine nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and water use efficiency (WUE). The successful conduct of the project will result in improved stable isotope, physiological and molecular techniques for NUE and WUE studies; improved understanding and management of hoop pine NUE and WUE for enhancing plantation productivity; and successful training of a high-calibre postgraduate student and sustaining a pool of world-class researchers to meet the needs of Australian forest industry.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of arsenic tolerance in plants: how do symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi reduce uptake? Arsenic contamination of soil is a major problem caused by irrigation with contaminated ground-water, mining and application of pesticides. Plant uptake leads to entry into food chains, with severe consequences for crop growth and human health. This project will aid the search for mechanisms to reduce plant arsenic accumulation by exploring roles of beneficial plant-fungus symbioses in r ....Mechanisms of arsenic tolerance in plants: how do symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi reduce uptake? Arsenic contamination of soil is a major problem caused by irrigation with contaminated ground-water, mining and application of pesticides. Plant uptake leads to entry into food chains, with severe consequences for crop growth and human health. This project will aid the search for mechanisms to reduce plant arsenic accumulation by exploring roles of beneficial plant-fungus symbioses in reducing uptake. Results will be relevant to most crop plants, because of the widespread occurrence of the symbioses. The project will enhance collaboration with China where arsenic toxicity is prevalent, provide education and training in an internationally recognised laboratory and enhance Australia's reputation for tackling soil contamination.Read moreRead less
How do legumes improve phosphorus uptake of the following wheat? World rock phosphate reserves for manufacturing phosphorus (P) fertilisers will be depleted in 50-100 years. Thus it is critical to reduce the reliance of the Australian agriculture on P fertilisers. The long-term application of P fertilisers has resulted in accumulation of P in a soil P bank which is unavailable to crops such as wheat. Legumes may have access to the soil P bank and increase growth and P uptake by the following wh ....How do legumes improve phosphorus uptake of the following wheat? World rock phosphate reserves for manufacturing phosphorus (P) fertilisers will be depleted in 50-100 years. Thus it is critical to reduce the reliance of the Australian agriculture on P fertilisers. The long-term application of P fertilisers has resulted in accumulation of P in a soil P bank which is unavailable to crops such as wheat. Legumes may have access to the soil P bank and increase growth and P uptake by the following wheat, but the mechanisms behind this effect are unclear. In this multidisciplinary international collaboration, we will characterise the changes in soil chemistry and microbiology in the legume-wheat rotation. The knowledge generated could result in greater utilisation of the soil P bank and decreased P fertiliser use.Read moreRead less
Cellular automata model of forest stands to predict size-class distribution and survival. Existing forest growth models predict well stand level processes such as growth. However, they provide little information on forest structure and how this affects commercial forest products, risks of growing plantations and stand dynamics that determine carbon sequestration and water-use and result in age-related decline in productivity and self-thinning. By using newly developed technology to quantify in ....Cellular automata model of forest stands to predict size-class distribution and survival. Existing forest growth models predict well stand level processes such as growth. However, they provide little information on forest structure and how this affects commercial forest products, risks of growing plantations and stand dynamics that determine carbon sequestration and water-use and result in age-related decline in productivity and self-thinning. By using newly developed technology to quantify inter-tree competition, tree level resource supply, between tree genetic differences and the importance of chance events this project will draw on complexity theory to develop an innovative model that partitions stand level production to forecast the growth and size of individual trees.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560828
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,288.00
Summary
Hydrodynamics and water quality field research facility. Understanding the fate of sediments and contaminants transported through catchments and the marine environment and their impacts on aquatic and marine ecosystems requires detailed hydrodynamic understanding at a range of scales. By establishing a state of the art research facility, JCU and GU together have a unique opportunity to provide hydrodynamic and water quality research which will support research priority areas of both institutions ....Hydrodynamics and water quality field research facility. Understanding the fate of sediments and contaminants transported through catchments and the marine environment and their impacts on aquatic and marine ecosystems requires detailed hydrodynamic understanding at a range of scales. By establishing a state of the art research facility, JCU and GU together have a unique opportunity to provide hydrodynamic and water quality research which will support research priority areas of both institutions, and advance the understanding of Australia's important tropical and subtropical ecosystems. Currently, excellent researchers and novel collaborations between and within James Cook University and Griffith University, are restricted by the lack of essential modern equipment.Read moreRead less
Symbiotic transport proteins in legumes. Some plants form a symbiosis with soil bacteria (rhizobia) that convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia which is then supplied to the plant. This enables legumes to grow without application of nitrogen-based fertilizer, avoiding environmental problems such as run-off and land degradation, thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture practise. We will investigate the interactions between plant and rhizobia, focusing on identifying genes and proteins wh ....Symbiotic transport proteins in legumes. Some plants form a symbiosis with soil bacteria (rhizobia) that convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia which is then supplied to the plant. This enables legumes to grow without application of nitrogen-based fertilizer, avoiding environmental problems such as run-off and land degradation, thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture practise. We will investigate the interactions between plant and rhizobia, focusing on identifying genes and proteins which govern nutrient exchange between the partners and development of the special structures in the roots that house the bacteria. Subsequent manipulation of these genes and proteins may allow us to identify control points and enhance nitrogen fixation.
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Molecular analysis of the symbiotic interface of nitrogen-fixing legumes. Some legumes form a symbiosis with soil bacteria (rhizobia) that convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia which is then supplied to the plant. This enables legumes to grow without application of nitrogen-based fertilizer, avoiding environmental problems such as run-off and land degradation, thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture practise. We will investigate the interactions between plant and rhizobia, focusing on ....Molecular analysis of the symbiotic interface of nitrogen-fixing legumes. Some legumes form a symbiosis with soil bacteria (rhizobia) that convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia which is then supplied to the plant. This enables legumes to grow without application of nitrogen-based fertilizer, avoiding environmental problems such as run-off and land degradation, thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture practise. We will investigate the interactions between plant and rhizobia, focusing on identifying genes and proteins which govern nutrient exchange between the partners and development of the special structures in the roots that house the bacteria. Subsequent manipulation of these genes and proteins may allow us to identify control points and enhance nitrogen fixation.Read moreRead less
European impact on Eastern Australian coastal lakes: understanding pre-impact conditions and post-settlement modification. Coastal lakes are vulnerable to European impact, yet little is known about how they have been altered in the last 200 years. For example: Are blue-green algal blooms a natural occurrence in coastal lakes? How long have freshwater lakes been isolated from the ocean? Preliminary results indicate that, at key sites, blue-green algae were more abundant before European settlement ....European impact on Eastern Australian coastal lakes: understanding pre-impact conditions and post-settlement modification. Coastal lakes are vulnerable to European impact, yet little is known about how they have been altered in the last 200 years. For example: Are blue-green algal blooms a natural occurrence in coastal lakes? How long have freshwater lakes been isolated from the ocean? Preliminary results indicate that, at key sites, blue-green algae were more abundant before European settlement and that coastal lakes thought to be permanently fresh have been exposed to the ocean within the past 200 years. By documenting change at representative sites, the project will identify which lake types are most vulnerable to impact. Results from the project will ensure that costly restoration efforts are not misplaced.Read moreRead less
Stabilization of hydrology at waste disposal sites through revegetation. Persistent drought in the past 20 years has increased the extraction of groundwater reserves by more than 2-fold to meet domestic water requirements throughout Australia. This water resource could be threatened from poorly managed waste disposal sites, where removal of pre-existing vegetation often exacerbates adverse hydrological processes of deep drainage. This study will provide information for the waste management indus ....Stabilization of hydrology at waste disposal sites through revegetation. Persistent drought in the past 20 years has increased the extraction of groundwater reserves by more than 2-fold to meet domestic water requirements throughout Australia. This water resource could be threatened from poorly managed waste disposal sites, where removal of pre-existing vegetation often exacerbates adverse hydrological processes of deep drainage. This study will provide information for the waste management industry that has achieved an annual turnover of more than $200 million in recent years. It will present recommendations on how vegetation can be employed to meet regulatory requirements by the industry.Read moreRead less