Understanding leaf water isotope composition. This project aims to quantify variation in leaf water isotopes and develop mechanistic models for paleoclimatologists and plant scientists to constrain global carbon cycles. Leaf water stable isotopes influence the isotope compositions of atmospheric oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour, and impart an evaporative signal on the isotope composition of plant organic material. These isotope signals have been used to constrain global carbon and water c ....Understanding leaf water isotope composition. This project aims to quantify variation in leaf water isotopes and develop mechanistic models for paleoclimatologists and plant scientists to constrain global carbon cycles. Leaf water stable isotopes influence the isotope compositions of atmospheric oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour, and impart an evaporative signal on the isotope composition of plant organic material. These isotope signals have been used to constrain global carbon and water cycles and reconstruct past climates. This project aims to quantify variation in leaf water isotopes and develop mechanistic models for use by paleoclimatologists, plant scientists and to constrain global carbon cycles and develop accurate models of leaf water isotopes to reduce uncertainty in climate models.Read moreRead less
Effects of global climate change on marine phytoplankton: interactions between UV radiation and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Global climate change is one of the most significant ecological challenges for the 21st Century. Phytoplankton contribute over 45% of the planet's annual net primary production and form the basis of most aquatic food chains. Conversely, some phytoplankton are toxic and cause problems in marine and fresh waters. Climate change can potentially disrupt aquatic ....Effects of global climate change on marine phytoplankton: interactions between UV radiation and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Global climate change is one of the most significant ecological challenges for the 21st Century. Phytoplankton contribute over 45% of the planet's annual net primary production and form the basis of most aquatic food chains. Conversely, some phytoplankton are toxic and cause problems in marine and fresh waters. Climate change can potentially disrupt aquatic foodchains by its impact on primary production by phytoplankton or stimulating growth of potentially toxic forms. Our project will investigate the combined impact of increasing carbon dioxide and ultraviolet light on phytoplankton and thereby help climate modellers assess the impact of climate change on aquatic ecosystems and particularly on the nation's and the world's fisheries.Read moreRead less
Eucalypt growth in past and future environments - a novel approach to understanding the impacts of atmospheric CO2 and climate. The impact of climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 on Australia's plantation and native forests is a major concern for government and land managers. These forests are important for environmental, aesthetic, and economic purposes, including carbon sequestration and trading. Forests use large amounts of water, reducing stream flow and water supplies for rural and u ....Eucalypt growth in past and future environments - a novel approach to understanding the impacts of atmospheric CO2 and climate. The impact of climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 on Australia's plantation and native forests is a major concern for government and land managers. These forests are important for environmental, aesthetic, and economic purposes, including carbon sequestration and trading. Forests use large amounts of water, reducing stream flow and water supplies for rural and urban communities. Knowledge generated from the proposed project will provide insight into mechanisms driving productivity and water use of forests in current and future environments. The knowledge will be used by land managers and government to develop strategies to cope with future impacts of climate change.Read moreRead less
Understanding the mechanisms of thermal acclimation in the symbiotic algae (Symbiodinium) within cnidarian corals. Global warming is a major threat to coral reefs, contributing to devastating coral bleaching. This project will provide new insight into how coral reefs can respond to rising global temperature through clarifying the thermal acclimation mechanisms in corals using molecular techniques.
What limits CO2 diffusion inside leaves? Dissecting the diffusion path with Arabidopsis mutants. Human induced increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is now generally accepted as contributing to global warming. Forecasting our future impact relies on models of terrestrial photosynthesis which use a signature in the atmosphere created by plants when they discriminate against the heavy stable isotope of carbon during photosynthesis. Discrimination between isotopes is affected by carbon dioxide dif ....What limits CO2 diffusion inside leaves? Dissecting the diffusion path with Arabidopsis mutants. Human induced increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is now generally accepted as contributing to global warming. Forecasting our future impact relies on models of terrestrial photosynthesis which use a signature in the atmosphere created by plants when they discriminate against the heavy stable isotope of carbon during photosynthesis. Discrimination between isotopes is affected by carbon dioxide diffusion within leaves and key steps in this process will be identified through the use of Arabidopsis mutants. Better representation of this process in models will improve estimates of terrestrial photosynthesis and climate change forecastsRead moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354740
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
CaGaWaLo: regulation of carbon gain and water loss by woody vegetation. Trees and shrubs are widely perceived as central to solving problems of national and international significance. Seed funding is sought to facilitate establishment of a research network focused on their ability to sequester carbon and transmit water to the atmosphere. The proposed network is broadly based in plant physiology and ecology and contains a strong cross-section of leading international expertise in relevant sub- ....CaGaWaLo: regulation of carbon gain and water loss by woody vegetation. Trees and shrubs are widely perceived as central to solving problems of national and international significance. Seed funding is sought to facilitate establishment of a research network focused on their ability to sequester carbon and transmit water to the atmosphere. The proposed network is broadly based in plant physiology and ecology and contains a strong cross-section of leading international expertise in relevant sub-disciplines. By leveraging the huge pool of international expertise and focusing on a range of scales (from molecular to biosphere scales), this network will yield new ideas and approaches that will produce outputs and outcomes of national significance.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882935
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$110,000.00
Summary
Tuneable diode laser for field and laboratory measurement of stable isotopes of CO2. The tuneable diode laser system will facilitate projects with major environmental benefits to Australia. Projects will provide major insights into Australia's CO2 balance. This will improve our ability to predict whether ecosystems are net sources or sinks for CO2 -- information that underpins Australia's greenhouse gas balance. The tuneable diode laser system will also benefit Australia's economy via enhanci ....Tuneable diode laser for field and laboratory measurement of stable isotopes of CO2. The tuneable diode laser system will facilitate projects with major environmental benefits to Australia. Projects will provide major insights into Australia's CO2 balance. This will improve our ability to predict whether ecosystems are net sources or sinks for CO2 -- information that underpins Australia's greenhouse gas balance. The tuneable diode laser system will also benefit Australia's economy via enhancing understanding of agricultural and forest production, a key portion of our GDP. These economic benefits will stem from new knowledge about the limitations to plant growth and the water-use efficiency of plants. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102580
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Water and carbon stable isotope exchange between the biosphere and atmosphere. Understanding how climatic factors affect ecosystem carbon dioxide and water fluxes is essential for better climate models and managements strategies. This project will use novel isotope laser spectroscopy to measure the oxygen isotope of transpired water and that of the atmosphere to examine carbon dioxide and water at both the leaf and ecosystem scale.
Mid-rotation diagnosis and management options for correction of water and nutrient deficiencies in plantation-grown eucalypts. This research will improve productivity of bluegum plantations by improving current diagnostic techniques (foliage and soil analysis) for nutrient disorders and the supply of water. Using a novel phloem sampling and analysis technique, we will develop a nutrient (e.g. N, P) and water diagnosis procedure that is quick, cheap, robust and reliable for field use. A major in ....Mid-rotation diagnosis and management options for correction of water and nutrient deficiencies in plantation-grown eucalypts. This research will improve productivity of bluegum plantations by improving current diagnostic techniques (foliage and soil analysis) for nutrient disorders and the supply of water. Using a novel phloem sampling and analysis technique, we will develop a nutrient (e.g. N, P) and water diagnosis procedure that is quick, cheap, robust and reliable for field use. A major innovation will be distinguishing the effects of shortages of water on growth from those of other growth influences. Overall, this project will provide a highly significant theoretical, conceptual and practical advance in mid-rotation, diagnostics for plantations with considerable commercial promise.Read moreRead less
Metabolite pools and their implications for plant responses to global change. Australian landscape management faces significant challenges from existing land practices and the effects of climate change. Effective management and targeted remediation requires an understanding of the processes that drive ecosystem function. The development of broadly applicable tools for the monitoring of plant and ecosystem health is therefore of considerable interest. Flexibility in core processes of plant functi ....Metabolite pools and their implications for plant responses to global change. Australian landscape management faces significant challenges from existing land practices and the effects of climate change. Effective management and targeted remediation requires an understanding of the processes that drive ecosystem function. The development of broadly applicable tools for the monitoring of plant and ecosystem health is therefore of considerable interest. Flexibility in core processes of plant function represents a significant opportunity to develop such tools. With a focus on plant metabolites, this project will characterise how Australian trees alter the allocation of resources to cope with environmental changes and produce metabolite-based selective traits for stress tolerance in Australian trees. Read moreRead less