Will trees get enough nitrogen to sustain productivity in elevated CO2? The project proposes to explore how tissue nitrogen declines in future elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) by studying the availability of soil nitrogen to plants and use of nitrogen by Eucalyptus woodland trees. Plant canopy nitrogen concentrations decline in nearly every large-scale eCO2 study done on native soils. The project plans to explore how changes in ecosystem nitrogen balance occur, by investigating if leaf nitrogen de ....Will trees get enough nitrogen to sustain productivity in elevated CO2? The project proposes to explore how tissue nitrogen declines in future elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) by studying the availability of soil nitrogen to plants and use of nitrogen by Eucalyptus woodland trees. Plant canopy nitrogen concentrations decline in nearly every large-scale eCO2 study done on native soils. The project plans to explore how changes in ecosystem nitrogen balance occur, by investigating if leaf nitrogen declines under eCO2 due to the balance of plant activity versus changes in soil nitrogen availability. The outcomes are central to knowing the extent to which extra nitrogen ‘feeds’ the eCO2 fertilisation response and sustains long-term increases in productivity. Expected outcomes may support the development of management options to sustain future forest productivity.Read moreRead less
Linking phytoplankton to fisheries using zooplankton size spectra. This project aims to develop innovative numerical methods to understand the dynamics, carbon export, and trophic structure of zooplankton. The trophic links between phytoplankton, zooplankton and fisheries are unknown. The size- frequency distribution of zooplankton (size spectrum) is an innovative method for estimating their growth, predation and production as food for fish. Analysis of a global synthesis of zooplankton size dis ....Linking phytoplankton to fisheries using zooplankton size spectra. This project aims to develop innovative numerical methods to understand the dynamics, carbon export, and trophic structure of zooplankton. The trophic links between phytoplankton, zooplankton and fisheries are unknown. The size- frequency distribution of zooplankton (size spectrum) is an innovative method for estimating their growth, predation and production as food for fish. Analysis of a global synthesis of zooplankton size distributions from tropical to polar environments are expected to reveal these vital rates of pelagic ecosystems. The zooplankton rates will reveal, for the first time, the link between phytoplankton and fisheries, and will significantly improve ecosystem models and global assessments of environmental change.Read moreRead less
Marine urban development: how can ecology inform the design of multifunctional artificial structures? This project aims to experimentally manipulate the design of artificial structures to achieve multipurpose ecological objectives. Artificial structures such as buildings and roads have featured in terrestrial urban landscapes for many years, but have only more recently begun encroaching on aquatic environments. Most marine artificial structures lack the innovative design solutions required to mi ....Marine urban development: how can ecology inform the design of multifunctional artificial structures? This project aims to experimentally manipulate the design of artificial structures to achieve multipurpose ecological objectives. Artificial structures such as buildings and roads have featured in terrestrial urban landscapes for many years, but have only more recently begun encroaching on aquatic environments. Most marine artificial structures lack the innovative design solutions required to mitigate their ecological impacts and provide essential ecosystem services such as pollution abatement. This project will investigate the efficacy of these designs with both classical measures of diversity and structure and novel measures of ecosystem function. The project aims to provide essential information to inform the design of future marine urban developments.Read moreRead less
The trophic ecosystem of a purpose-built, offshore artificial reef: do coastal currents supply sufficient nutrients for the local production of fish? Offshore artificial reefs may provide enhanced recreational fishing for an urbanized coast. This project will investigate the oceanographic and ecological processes around the new, design-specific, reefs off Sydney to determine if they actually produce fish, rather than simply attract fish. The project will influence the design of future reefs.
Do microbial and plant diversity interact to regulate multifunctionality? This project aims to quantify the relative contribution of plant and microbial communities and their interactions on the rate, stability and resilience of ecosystem functions. Plant and soil microbial communities contribute to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, driving key processes such as carbon and nutrient cycling. This project will adapt established theories which indicate that greater plant diversity improves ....Do microbial and plant diversity interact to regulate multifunctionality? This project aims to quantify the relative contribution of plant and microbial communities and their interactions on the rate, stability and resilience of ecosystem functions. Plant and soil microbial communities contribute to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, driving key processes such as carbon and nutrient cycling. This project will adapt established theories which indicate that greater plant diversity improves ecosystem functions, stability and recovery. The expected outcome is a unifying framework for determining variation in functions across different ecosystem types and environmental disturbance such as rapid climate change.The insight gained into vulnerable ecosystems will help stakeholders (government, conservation, land management) to prioritise the focus on conservation and reduce risks to ecosystem services.Read moreRead less
Multitrophic interactions drive diversity-ecosystem function relationships. Soil communities, among the most abundant and diverse in nature are responsible for many critical ecosystem functions, including nutrient cycling and climate regulation. This project will determine whether consideration and quantification of interactions between different biotic communities – specifically among plants, soil microbes and animals, within and across trophic levels - can address underlying shortcomings in pr ....Multitrophic interactions drive diversity-ecosystem function relationships. Soil communities, among the most abundant and diverse in nature are responsible for many critical ecosystem functions, including nutrient cycling and climate regulation. This project will determine whether consideration and quantification of interactions between different biotic communities – specifically among plants, soil microbes and animals, within and across trophic levels - can address underlying shortcomings in predictions from classical biodiversity-ecosystem function theory. By advancing understanding of biological complexity and its impacts on ecosystem functions, the project will provide a unifying framework for understanding variation in ecosystem functions across scales, ecosystem types and multiple environmental disturbances.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100570
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Cyanobacterial bio-encapsulation for restoring degraded drylands. This project aims to discover the ecological and functional roles of cyanobacteria in drylands, and develop new technologies for their broad application in large-scale ecosystem restoration. The global demand for landscape-scale restoration requires novel approaches to deliver on the promise of reinstating healthy, sustainable, and biodiverse ecosystems. This project will harness next-generation DNA sequencing to select beneficial ....Cyanobacterial bio-encapsulation for restoring degraded drylands. This project aims to discover the ecological and functional roles of cyanobacteria in drylands, and develop new technologies for their broad application in large-scale ecosystem restoration. The global demand for landscape-scale restoration requires novel approaches to deliver on the promise of reinstating healthy, sustainable, and biodiverse ecosystems. This project will harness next-generation DNA sequencing to select beneficial cyanobacteria for incorporation into emerging seed enhancement technologies. The project will deliver innovative and cost-effective tools to overcome barriers to seedling recruitment and plant survival, and enhance the functionality of degraded dryland ecosystems. This will contribute to long-term cost savings to the Australian economy through reduced spending on environmental issues such as salinity, erosion, acidification and poor water quality.Read moreRead less
Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will ....Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will resolve the roles of environmental drivers of soil respiration across forests; integrate mechanistic understanding of differing plant and microbial responses to temperature within a common modelling framework; and evaluate the implications of this knowledge in predictions of climatic impacts on terrestrial carbon cycling.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101822
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,428.00
Summary
Small but bold: harnessing microbes to boost drought tolerance in grasses . Drought threats grasslands worldwide, and new adaptation and resilience building approaches are required to protect the wealth of ecosystem services provided by grasslands. Soil microbes offer an untapped opportunity to enhance drought survival in grasses. Yet, to harness this potential, we first need to identify the key microbial functions that contribute to plant tolerance to drought. This project aims to determine the ....Small but bold: harnessing microbes to boost drought tolerance in grasses . Drought threats grasslands worldwide, and new adaptation and resilience building approaches are required to protect the wealth of ecosystem services provided by grasslands. Soil microbes offer an untapped opportunity to enhance drought survival in grasses. Yet, to harness this potential, we first need to identify the key microbial functions that contribute to plant tolerance to drought. This project aims to determine the microbe-mediated ecological and functional mechanisms that underpin grass performance under drought. This knowledge will lay the foundation to accelerate the design and implementation of effective microbial manipulations and management strategies, and thus increase our success in protecting this important ecosystem.Read moreRead less
Resolving the role of dryland flooding in the global carbon cycle. Aquatic sources of carbon dioxide and methane are globally significant, but unknown for flooded drylands. The aim of this project is to use an innovative combination of well-integrated methodologies to determine if flooded drylands release large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. This project is significant because this release of carbon dioxide and methane has not previously been accounted for and may change the magnitude of ....Resolving the role of dryland flooding in the global carbon cycle. Aquatic sources of carbon dioxide and methane are globally significant, but unknown for flooded drylands. The aim of this project is to use an innovative combination of well-integrated methodologies to determine if flooded drylands release large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. This project is significant because this release of carbon dioxide and methane has not previously been accounted for and may change the magnitude of the global terrestrial carbon dioxide sink and account of some of the planet’s missing sources of methane. The outcomes of this project will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the global carbon cycle and earth climate system, and inform future management of these systems.
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