Forest ecosystem diversity, function and service in response to perturbations: the key regulatory role of biogeochemical cycling. The natural and anthropogenic perturbations such as elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen(N) deposition, fires and land contamination have transformed much of the land surface on the earth and significantly modified terrestrial biogeochemical cycles in the past century. This project seeks to develop and apply novel nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ....Forest ecosystem diversity, function and service in response to perturbations: the key regulatory role of biogeochemical cycling. The natural and anthropogenic perturbations such as elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen(N) deposition, fires and land contamination have transformed much of the land surface on the earth and significantly modified terrestrial biogeochemical cycles in the past century. This project seeks to develop and apply novel nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, isotopic and bio-molecular techniques to examine the key role of interactive biogeochemical cycles of carbon and major elements (N, Phosphorous) in regulating forest ecosystem responses to these perturbations. This project will result in improved mitigation and adaptation strategies for such perturbations, thereby restoring and sustaining forest ecosystems and conserving biodiversity in natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Unlocking Viral Contribution to Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycling. This project aims to investigate how soil viruses steer key nitrogen cycling microorganisms and processes, by utilising emerging approaches of viromes, DNA-stable-isotope probing, and Raman-spectroscopy-based single-cell-sorting technology. This project expects to generate new knowledge in harnessing the potential of soil viruses to improve fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency through manipulating the biological pathways of nitrogen los ....Unlocking Viral Contribution to Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycling. This project aims to investigate how soil viruses steer key nitrogen cycling microorganisms and processes, by utilising emerging approaches of viromes, DNA-stable-isotope probing, and Raman-spectroscopy-based single-cell-sorting technology. This project expects to generate new knowledge in harnessing the potential of soil viruses to improve fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency through manipulating the biological pathways of nitrogen losses from agricultural ecosystems. Expected outcomes of this project include novel and comprehensive evidence for the roles of soil viruses in controlling terrestrial nitrogen cycling processes. This should provide significant benefits to Australian agriculture and environmental management.Read moreRead less
Contribution of comammox bacteria to soil nitrification. This project aims to understand the diversity, activity and environmental relevance of comammox bacteria, the newly-discovered complete nitrifiers, in Australian soils, and to evaluate their relative contributions to nitrification processes compared to other canonical nitrifying prokaryotes. Nitrogen transformations are pivotal microbial processes, with nitrification largely responsible for nitrogen losses through nitrous oxide emissions a ....Contribution of comammox bacteria to soil nitrification. This project aims to understand the diversity, activity and environmental relevance of comammox bacteria, the newly-discovered complete nitrifiers, in Australian soils, and to evaluate their relative contributions to nitrification processes compared to other canonical nitrifying prokaryotes. Nitrogen transformations are pivotal microbial processes, with nitrification largely responsible for nitrogen losses through nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate leaching in the terrestrial ecosystems. The expected outcomes will develop new knowledge on the comammox bacteria and provide novel insights into refined strategies to manipulate nitrification processes for improved nitrogen use efficiency and sustainable agricultural management.Read moreRead less
Soil ecology in the 21st century - a crucial role in land management. Recent technological advances have helped us discover the role of soil ecology in achieving sustainability in Australia. This project will develop ways to take this complex knowledge and translate it into forms that can be used by land managers. This work will focus on soil carbon sequestration, but is relevant to many other environmental issues.
Dynamic soil landscape carbon modelling. Soil is the largest terrestrial store of carbon. This project will enhance our understanding of the causes and controls of spatial and temporal variations of soil carbon which is crucial for managing climate change, food water and energy security and for maintenance of biodiversity.
Ecosystem response to climate and anthropogenic disturbances: implications for greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient cycling. Humanity is challenged with climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, declining fertiliser reserves and a need to feed the world's growing population. This project will result in greater understanding of how ecosystems can respond to these challenges and provide a framework to help Australia manage its agricultural and natural reserves.
Unravelling the secrets of the rhizosphere of crops. Phosphate is one of the most important limiting nutrients for crop growth and production. Plant acquisition of soil phosphate largely depends on root proliferation to accelerate soil exploration, and on phosphate bioavailability mediated by root exudates and rhizosphere microorganisms. Central to this is the need for a better understanding of the complex biogeochemical interfaces in the rhizosphere. This project explores recently developed non ....Unravelling the secrets of the rhizosphere of crops. Phosphate is one of the most important limiting nutrients for crop growth and production. Plant acquisition of soil phosphate largely depends on root proliferation to accelerate soil exploration, and on phosphate bioavailability mediated by root exudates and rhizosphere microorganisms. Central to this is the need for a better understanding of the complex biogeochemical interfaces in the rhizosphere. This project explores recently developed non-destructive imaging, isotope, and metabolism techniques to generate a systematic research tool in tracking rhizosphere interactions and imaging phosphate dynamics from macroscale to nanoscale levels. This study will provide new opportunities to improve crop nutrient use efficiency and crop production.Read moreRead less
Understanding why aluminium and other trace metals are toxic to plants - the key to improving crop yield in degraded soils. Aluminium toxicity drastically reduces plant growth in acid soils, costing Australia approximately $1.5 billion per annum in lost productivity. This project will aim to identify the reasons behind the toxicities of aluminium and other metals and has the potential to increase yields in 50 per cent of Australia’s agricultural land which is acidic.
Interplay of the forces of nature: electroweak and strong interactions. The Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland will search for new physics by smashing protons together at the highest energies ever created in the laboratory. This project will focus on complementary searches for new physics by investigating novel phenomena associated with the mutual interactions of the strong and weak forces of nature.
Quantum control in mesoscopic condensed matter systems. Semiconductor devices are at the foundation of modern technology. Industrial nanofabrication techniques can now produce devices near the atomic scale, and state-of-the-art experiments have demonstrated the previously unimaginable ability to manipulate individual electrons. This project will develop new techniques to control such quantum circuits and couple them together to form useful devices. New experiments to test these schemes will be p ....Quantum control in mesoscopic condensed matter systems. Semiconductor devices are at the foundation of modern technology. Industrial nanofabrication techniques can now produce devices near the atomic scale, and state-of-the-art experiments have demonstrated the previously unimaginable ability to manipulate individual electrons. This project will develop new techniques to control such quantum circuits and couple them together to form useful devices. New experiments to test these schemes will be proposed. This project will provide a foundation for future information processing technologies such as quantum computers.Read moreRead less