Drought effects on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling mediated by rhizosphere processes. There is much uncertainty about how drought caused by global warming will affect agricultural sustainability in Australia. This project will provide new knowledge about plant-soil interactions affecting carbon and nutrient cycling and will make predictions about long-term soil carbon storage and agricultural productivity in response to drought.
Root effects on soil organic matter: a double-edged sword. This project aims to understand how plant roots build and destroy soil organic matter in grasslands and what the impacts are of drought. Soil organic matter is the largest terrestrial reservoir of nutrients for plant growth, but paradoxically, formation of new soil organic matter by plant roots also requires external nutrients. This project will address this apparent paradox by using a new root-centric framework and stable isotope techni ....Root effects on soil organic matter: a double-edged sword. This project aims to understand how plant roots build and destroy soil organic matter in grasslands and what the impacts are of drought. Soil organic matter is the largest terrestrial reservoir of nutrients for plant growth, but paradoxically, formation of new soil organic matter by plant roots also requires external nutrients. This project will address this apparent paradox by using a new root-centric framework and stable isotope techniques. The project will use state-of-the art computer models that incorporate the latest frameworks on soil organic matter interacting with plant roots. Benefits include an improved capacity to manage and predict grassland productivity and soil organic matter dynamics with greater resolution and accuracy.Read moreRead less
Next-generation vegetation model based on functional traits. Global vegetation models try to answer big questions, such as the effects of climate change and carbon dioxide (CO2) on ecosystems and vice versa. But as present models are outdated and give inconsistent results, the project is planning a new, more robust model that will fully exploit recent advances in plant functional ecology and earth system science.
A global-scale analysis of functional traits in the face of global change. This project uses a global collaboration to develop a novel method for determining the response of extremely diverse animal taxa to global change. The method focusses on morphological traits and their functions and will improve conservation efforts by predicting the types of ecological processes and species threatened.
Unsaturation of vapour pressure inside leaves: fundamental, but unknown. This project aims to determine when and to what extent the air inside leaves becomes unsaturated with water vapour. All current interpretation and modelling of leaf gas exchange assumes saturation under all circumstances. Compelling evidence has been obtained that suggests this is not true under moderate air vapour pressure deficits. A novel technique will be employed to assess the water vapour concentration of the air insi ....Unsaturation of vapour pressure inside leaves: fundamental, but unknown. This project aims to determine when and to what extent the air inside leaves becomes unsaturated with water vapour. All current interpretation and modelling of leaf gas exchange assumes saturation under all circumstances. Compelling evidence has been obtained that suggests this is not true under moderate air vapour pressure deficits. A novel technique will be employed to assess the water vapour concentration of the air inside leaves based on stable isotope analysis of carbon dioxide and water vapour exchanged between leaves and air. The project is expected to provide fundamental knowledge about how stomata regulate photosynthesis and water use, with significant implications for modelling vegetation function and for improving the performance of crop plants.Read moreRead less
Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworkin ....Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworking and tool use and >163,000 years ago the oldest heat treatment of rock to make stone tools. The organic preservation at the site means that we can reconstruct changing environment, linked to sea level changes and spring activity, for this period in the evolution of our ancestors at a level of detail not previously possibleRead moreRead less
Indian Ocean Climate Change: Ningaloo Reef, a litmus test for the survival of coral reefs. Coral reefs are at the frontline from the effects of rapidly rising levels of carbon dioxide that is causing both global warming and oceans to become more acid-like. Our research program will determine how the survival of one of the World’s most pristine and best preserved coral reefs, Ningaloo Reef, is linked to the response of Australia’s Indian Ocean to climate change. For the first time, we will simula ....Indian Ocean Climate Change: Ningaloo Reef, a litmus test for the survival of coral reefs. Coral reefs are at the frontline from the effects of rapidly rising levels of carbon dioxide that is causing both global warming and oceans to become more acid-like. Our research program will determine how the survival of one of the World’s most pristine and best preserved coral reefs, Ningaloo Reef, is linked to the response of Australia’s Indian Ocean to climate change. For the first time, we will simulate realistic ‘future’ conditions and see how actual coral reef systems respond. This will provide a ‘yardstick’ against which the best-case survival potential of the world’s coral reefs can be assessed, critical for underpinning the urgently needed action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we are to ensure the survival of coral reefs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101654
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$335,528.00
Summary
Assessing Eucalyptus forest responses to rising CO2 and climate change. Rising atmospheric CO2 and the associated changes in rainfall regimes are rapidly reshaping how Australia’s forest ecosystems function and underpin our daily life. Whether Australia’s native Eucalyptus trees can withstand the impacts of climate extremes such as drought and heat under rising CO2 is a crucial question that this project aims to resolve. Using an innovative framework that integrates novel knowledge, data assimil ....Assessing Eucalyptus forest responses to rising CO2 and climate change. Rising atmospheric CO2 and the associated changes in rainfall regimes are rapidly reshaping how Australia’s forest ecosystems function and underpin our daily life. Whether Australia’s native Eucalyptus trees can withstand the impacts of climate extremes such as drought and heat under rising CO2 is a crucial question that this project aims to resolve. Using an innovative framework that integrates novel knowledge, data assimilation and ecosystem modelling, this project will provide critically needed evidence to disentangle the multifaceted impacts of climate change to Eucalyptus trees. This will help reduce the predictive uncertainty in assessing the vulnerability and resilience of Eucalyptus forests in the changing Australian landscape. Read moreRead less
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
Early desert settlement of Arabia following out-of-Africa human dispersals. This project aims to improve our understanding of the nature, timing and climatic context of early human expansion into SW Asia, from a new extensive archaeological complex with associated palaeoenvironmental sequences on the Arabian Peninsula – a strategic out-of-Africa migratory corridor. It will combine innovative approaches in archaeology, geochronology and palaeoenvironmental research to evaluate the environmental a ....Early desert settlement of Arabia following out-of-Africa human dispersals. This project aims to improve our understanding of the nature, timing and climatic context of early human expansion into SW Asia, from a new extensive archaeological complex with associated palaeoenvironmental sequences on the Arabian Peninsula – a strategic out-of-Africa migratory corridor. It will combine innovative approaches in archaeology, geochronology and palaeoenvironmental research to evaluate the environmental and cultural adaptability of early desert settlement, providing critical new insights into globally significant human dispersal debates spanning multiple continents, including Australia. The aim is a fundamental new perspective on long-term human occupation dynamics of deserts and new understanding of regional dispersals.Read moreRead less