Reserving nitrogen in soils through microbial nitrate reduction to ammonium. This project aims to identify those microbes able to transform nitrate to ammonium and thus increase soil nitrogen conservation. More than 50 per cent of the nitrogen in fertilisers applied to soils is lost into the environment, which is both a financial loss to farmers and a main anthropogenic source of nitrogen pollution. Some microbes can transform nitrate into ammonium through dissimilatory reduction (DNRA) and thus ....Reserving nitrogen in soils through microbial nitrate reduction to ammonium. This project aims to identify those microbes able to transform nitrate to ammonium and thus increase soil nitrogen conservation. More than 50 per cent of the nitrogen in fertilisers applied to soils is lost into the environment, which is both a financial loss to farmers and a main anthropogenic source of nitrogen pollution. Some microbes can transform nitrate into ammonium through dissimilatory reduction (DNRA) and thus increase soil nitrogen retention. However, the DNRA process and the responsible microbial groups remain largely unknown. This project plans to use isotope tracing and biomolecular approaches to identify those DNRA microbial groups and elucidate the DNRA reaction process. The findings may support the use of DNRA to improve soil nitrogen.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100352
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Understanding the origin and maintenance of megadiverse plant communities. South-western Australia hosts some of the most biologically diverse plant communities on Earth, and these occur on the most ancient, nutrient-impoverished soils. By studying coastal dunes of increasing age, this project will determine how megadiverse plant communities originate during long-term ecosystem development, and how they are maintained.
Get tough, get toxic or get a bodyguard: how root herbivores shape grass defences. The weight of root-feeding beetles can exceed that of sheep on Australian pastures and can result in significant losses in productivity. Grasses fight back against aboveground herbivores using toughness (physical defence), toxicity (chemical defence) and bodyguards (recruitment of the herbivore’s enemies). Little is known about belowground defences however, but grasses depend on roots for re-growth so good root de ....Get tough, get toxic or get a bodyguard: how root herbivores shape grass defences. The weight of root-feeding beetles can exceed that of sheep on Australian pastures and can result in significant losses in productivity. Grasses fight back against aboveground herbivores using toughness (physical defence), toxicity (chemical defence) and bodyguards (recruitment of the herbivore’s enemies). Little is known about belowground defences however, but grasses depend on roots for re-growth so good root defences seem essential. This study will apply optimal defence theory to consider these three defences against belowground herbivory across a range of grasses. The project will ask whether domestication has disarmed grass species and if defensive traits differ between photosynthetic pathways, before field-testing these patterns with root herbivore populations. Read moreRead less
The role of plant-soil feedback in biodiversity maintenance along fertility gradients: from patterns to mechanisms. Plants strongly modify soils and their associated biota, which in turn has important consequences for plant growth. This is known as 'plant-soil feedback'. This project will determine whether such feedback plays a role in maintaining the exceptionally high levels of plant biodiversity found in the kwongan shrublands of south-western Australia.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100479
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,582.00
Summary
Delivering defences: using fungi to enhance plant resistance to herbivory. This project will identify how the diversity of beneficial fungi in the soil is affected by agricultural management, and will reveal how these fungi govern the ability of plants to defend themselves from insect herbivores. Through innovative field surveys and experimentation, this project will generate new knowledge in the key areas of soil ecology and plant defence. This will allow us to exploit these soil fungi to enhan ....Delivering defences: using fungi to enhance plant resistance to herbivory. This project will identify how the diversity of beneficial fungi in the soil is affected by agricultural management, and will reveal how these fungi govern the ability of plants to defend themselves from insect herbivores. Through innovative field surveys and experimentation, this project will generate new knowledge in the key areas of soil ecology and plant defence. This will allow us to exploit these soil fungi to enhance crop protection while simultaneously conserving soil ecosystems. Effectively boosting plant defence in this way will reduce reliance on ecologically damaging pesticides, promote soil biodiversity, and ensure the sustainability of crop production into the future. Read moreRead less