ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2299-3408
Current Organisation
Murdoch University
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2017.12.104
Abstract: Globally, land-use transition from mining to agriculture is becoming increasingly attractive and necessary for many reasons. However, low levels of necessary plant nutrients, and high levels of heavy metals, can h er plant growth, affecting yield, and potentially, food safety. In post-phosphate mining substrates, for ex le, nitrogen (N) is a key limiting nutrient, and, although legumes are planted prior to cereals, N supplementation is still necessary. We undertook two field trials on Christmas Island, Australia, to determine whether Sorghum bicolor could be grown successfully in a post-phosphate mining substrate. The first trial investigated N (urea) demand (amount of N required for adequate crop growth) for S. bicolor, and whether N addition could reduce the naturally occurring cadmium (Cd) concentrations in the crop. The second trial examined whether slow release nitrogen fertilizers (SRF) could replace urea to increase biomass and reduce Cd concentrations. Our first trial demonstrated that S. bicolor has a high N demand, with the highest biomass being recorded in the 160kg/ha urea treatment. However, plants treated with 80, 120 and 160kg/ha were not significantly different from one another. After 7weeks of growth, leaf Cd concentrations were significantly lower for all urea treatments compared with the control plants. However, after 23weeks, seed Cd concentrations did not differ across treatments. Our second trial demonstrated that the application of SRF (Macracote® and Sulsync®) and 160kg/ha urea significantly increased biomass above the control plants. There was, however, no treatment response in terms of Cd or N concentrations in the seed at final harvest. Thus, we have shown that N is currently critical for S. bicolor, even following legume cropping, and that high biomass and a significant reduction in Cd can be attained with appropriate levels of urea. Our work has important implications for cereal growth and food safety in post-mining agriculture.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-06-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GFS.12524
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GFS.12523
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 29-06-2020
DOI: 10.3390/MICROORGANISMS8070973
Abstract: Urban forests consist of various environments from intensely managed spaces to conservation areas and are often reservoirs of a erse range of invasive pathogens due to their introduction through the nursery trade. Pathogens are likely to persist because the urban forest contains a mixture of native and exotic plant species, and the environmental conditions are often less than ideal for the trees. To test the impact of different land management approaches on the Phytophthora community, 236 discrete soil and root s les were collected from declining trees in 91 parks and nature reserves in Joondalup, Western Australia (WA). S ling targeted an extensive variety of declining native trees and shrubs, from families known to be susceptible to Phytophthora. A sub-s le was set aside and DNA extracted for metabarcoding using Phytophthora-specific primers the remaining soil and root s le was baited for the isolation of Phytophthora. We considered the effect on the Phytophthora community of park class and area, soil family, and the change in canopy cover or health as determined through sequential measurements using remote sensing. Of the 236 s les, baiting techniques detected Phytophthora species from 24 s les (18 parks), while metabarcoding detected Phytophthora from 168 s les (64 parks). Overall, forty-four Phytophthora phylotypes were detected. Considering only s ling sites where Phytophthora was detected, species richness averaged 5.82 (range 1–21) for s les and 9.23 (range 2–24) for parks. Phytophthora multivora was the most frequently found species followed by P. arenaria, P. amnicola and P. cinnamomi. While park area and canopy cover had a significant effect on Phytophthora community the R2 values were very low, indicating they have had little effect in shaping the community. Phytophthora cinnamomi and P. multivora, the two most invasive species, often co-occurring (61% of s les) however, the communities with P. multivora were more common than those with P. cinnamomi, reflecting observations over the past decade of the increasing importance of P. multivora as a pathogen in the urban environment.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-09-2019
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12818
No related grants have been discovered for Emma Steel.