The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
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
Phosphorus - A Key Factor in the Development of Novel Perennial Herbaceous Deep-rooted Pasture Legumes. This research aims at the development of urgently needed perennial pasture legumes, to expand perennial pasture options for southern Australia beyond lucerne. The development of new deep-rooted perennial pasture legumes has enormous potential to improve nutrient and water use over large areas of agricultural land. Benefits in terms of reducing soil erosion and acidification are also likely. An ....Phosphorus - A Key Factor in the Development of Novel Perennial Herbaceous Deep-rooted Pasture Legumes. This research aims at the development of urgently needed perennial pasture legumes, to expand perennial pasture options for southern Australia beyond lucerne. The development of new deep-rooted perennial pasture legumes has enormous potential to improve nutrient and water use over large areas of agricultural land. Benefits in terms of reducing soil erosion and acidification are also likely. An understanding of the responses of new perennial legumes to soil phosphorus is a prerequisite for the development of new perennial farming systems. Overall, both environmental and financial benefits will accrue at scales ranging from individual farmers and rural industries through to the general community.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668294
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$110,000.00
Summary
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Facility for Nitrogen and Water Analysis in Plants. Continual improvement to agricultural plant production is key to maintaining future sustainable growth in Australian agriculture. Our respective research teams are focussed on improving how plants utilise both nitrogen and water. Many questions remain with respect to where, how and when plants use and or access these important nutrients. The proposed facility will enable plant scientists to begin in-depth anal ....Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Facility for Nitrogen and Water Analysis in Plants. Continual improvement to agricultural plant production is key to maintaining future sustainable growth in Australian agriculture. Our respective research teams are focussed on improving how plants utilise both nitrogen and water. Many questions remain with respect to where, how and when plants use and or access these important nutrients. The proposed facility will enable plant scientists to begin in-depth analysis of both nitrogen transport mechanisms and the ability to model root development and water allocation in crop species. This research will ultimately lead to improved knowledge on how plants respond to their environment and where modifications can be made to generate sustainable crops suited to Australian agriculture.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
Organisation and function of embedded oil glands in eucalypts. Some eucalypt leaves contain large quantities of essential oils, which have been extracted for commercial purposes for many years. Advancement of this industry, however, requires basic research directed at enhancing both the yield of oil and the range of valuable constituents. This project will make use of a new protocol for isolating and purifying the foliar oil-producing glands to identify a new suite of oil gland constituents and ....Organisation and function of embedded oil glands in eucalypts. Some eucalypt leaves contain large quantities of essential oils, which have been extracted for commercial purposes for many years. Advancement of this industry, however, requires basic research directed at enhancing both the yield of oil and the range of valuable constituents. This project will make use of a new protocol for isolating and purifying the foliar oil-producing glands to identify a new suite of oil gland constituents and to understand the way in which they are made and deployed in the gland. The research will also contribute to our general understanding of oil gland structure and function.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0561161
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$110,000.00
Summary
Joint Facility for Genome Analysis of Nutrient Transport Proteins. The joint facility for genome analysis of nutrient transport proteins is a new initiative between the University of Adelaide, the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, and the University of Western Australia to use a high throughput Xenopus oocyte expression system to screen plant cDNA/cRNA collections for genes encoding nutrient transport proteins. The facility will also provide a platform to rapidly accelerate our p ....Joint Facility for Genome Analysis of Nutrient Transport Proteins. The joint facility for genome analysis of nutrient transport proteins is a new initiative between the University of Adelaide, the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, and the University of Western Australia to use a high throughput Xenopus oocyte expression system to screen plant cDNA/cRNA collections for genes encoding nutrient transport proteins. The facility will also provide a platform to rapidly accelerate our present capacity for Xenopus oocyte expression analysis of nutrient transport proteins. This facility will greatly aid our current research quantum in this field and allow for new discoveries related to nutrient transport in plants.Read moreRead less
Understanding plant uptake of organic and inorganic nitrogen for optimal fertiliser application in forestry. Nitrogen (N) in soils occurs in both organic and inorganic forms. Plants can take up inorganic N - nitrate and ammonium - but, on average, these account for only 5% of the soluble N in soils. Recent evidence suggests that plants may be able to tap into some of the 95% of N that occurs in organic forms. We will investigate the importance of organic N uptake for two plantation Eucalyptus sp ....Understanding plant uptake of organic and inorganic nitrogen for optimal fertiliser application in forestry. Nitrogen (N) in soils occurs in both organic and inorganic forms. Plants can take up inorganic N - nitrate and ammonium - but, on average, these account for only 5% of the soluble N in soils. Recent evidence suggests that plants may be able to tap into some of the 95% of N that occurs in organic forms. We will investigate the importance of organic N uptake for two plantation Eucalyptus species by tracing the uptake of different N forms by bacteria, fungi and eucalypts. This information will redefine what is meant by 'available N' and will guide the development of a new test for soil N status.Read moreRead less
Economics of carbon, nitrogen and water use in Acacia and Eucalyptus. Australia's flora is dominated by plants with sclerophyllous foliage, that is hard leaves that are tolerant of nutrient and/or water stress. Either nutrient and/or water stress are suggested as driving the evolution of sclerophylly and distribution of extant species. Mechanisms of tolerance to drought and nutrient stress differ, and these differences are reflected in patterns of nitrogen and carbon allocation and economics o ....Economics of carbon, nitrogen and water use in Acacia and Eucalyptus. Australia's flora is dominated by plants with sclerophyllous foliage, that is hard leaves that are tolerant of nutrient and/or water stress. Either nutrient and/or water stress are suggested as driving the evolution of sclerophylly and distribution of extant species. Mechanisms of tolerance to drought and nutrient stress differ, and these differences are reflected in patterns of nitrogen and carbon allocation and economics of nitrogen and water use in photosynthesis. The present study will use these differences in economics to distinguish between water- and nutrient-driven adaptations in a range of Acacia and Eucalyptus species from mesic to arid environments.Read moreRead less
Crops for a phosphorus-scarce future: plant adaptation to fluctuating phosphorus availability. Phosphorus is commonly used on farmland to ensure high yields. However, rock phosphate reserves are declining and leaching of phosphorus from farmlands into native vegetation and water bodies causes significant environmental degradation. As a result, more phosphorus-efficient farming systems are urgently required. Many Australian native plants have adapted to low phosphorus soils and fast fluctuations ....Crops for a phosphorus-scarce future: plant adaptation to fluctuating phosphorus availability. Phosphorus is commonly used on farmland to ensure high yields. However, rock phosphate reserves are declining and leaching of phosphorus from farmlands into native vegetation and water bodies causes significant environmental degradation. As a result, more phosphorus-efficient farming systems are urgently required. Many Australian native plants have adapted to low phosphorus soils and fast fluctuations in phosphorus availability. This project aims to investigate plant adaptations to phosphorus fluctuations and the potential for storing phosphorus when it is abundant for later use. This should aid development of crops with improved phosphorus fertiliser-use efficiency in anticipation of a phosphorus-scarce future.Read moreRead less
High temperature limits of leaf function. In arid and semi-arid central Australia, Acacia spp. dominate the over-storey, but this shifts to Eucalyptus and Corymbia spp. in more mesic coastal regions. Areas of central Australia are extremely hot, dry and sunny, and it is this combination of stresses that likely excludes Eucalyptus spp. from many landforms. There has been little research on high temperature tolerance of Acacia and Eucalyptus, despite the putative importance of this stress, in co ....High temperature limits of leaf function. In arid and semi-arid central Australia, Acacia spp. dominate the over-storey, but this shifts to Eucalyptus and Corymbia spp. in more mesic coastal regions. Areas of central Australia are extremely hot, dry and sunny, and it is this combination of stresses that likely excludes Eucalyptus spp. from many landforms. There has been little research on high temperature tolerance of Acacia and Eucalyptus, despite the putative importance of this stress, in combination with other stresses, in limiting species? distributions. Our program of collaborative research will examine the tolerance of Acacia and Eucalyptus to a combination of high temperatures, drought and high light.Read moreRead less