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.
Role of organic matter in soil pH change in agro-ecosystems. Over 50 million hectares of arable lands in Australia are affected by soil acidity. Acidity-affected lands continue to expand due to the ongoing process of acidification under current farming practices. The project will provide new knowledge essential for the improved use and management of organic matter to minimize or reverse soil acidification and increase carbon sequestration in farming systems. The associated reduction of soil aci ....Role of organic matter in soil pH change in agro-ecosystems. Over 50 million hectares of arable lands in Australia are affected by soil acidity. Acidity-affected lands continue to expand due to the ongoing process of acidification under current farming practices. The project will provide new knowledge essential for the improved use and management of organic matter to minimize or reverse soil acidification and increase carbon sequestration in farming systems. The associated reduction of soil acidification will also minimise the negative impact of nutrient and water losses on the environment. Growers will benefit from the project through improved soil fertility and crop production, and sustainable land use. Read moreRead less
Fingerprinting the soil microbial metagenome. The understanding of the impact of current farming systems on soil biology is in its infancy. Technology previously used to examine soil biology only investigates a very small percentage of all soil organisms. We will use an innovative new technology (DArT) to rapidly gain an overview of all soil microbial biodiversity. We will then evaluate the impact of agricultural practices on that biodiversity, firstly based on our long term trial site exhibiti ....Fingerprinting the soil microbial metagenome. The understanding of the impact of current farming systems on soil biology is in its infancy. Technology previously used to examine soil biology only investigates a very small percentage of all soil organisms. We will use an innovative new technology (DArT) to rapidly gain an overview of all soil microbial biodiversity. We will then evaluate the impact of agricultural practices on that biodiversity, firstly based on our long term trial site exhibiting common farming practices, and then by a broader regional survey. Our longer term goal is to find microbiological indicators of healthy soil through a vastly improved ability to determine a wide range of beneficial and disease organisms to identify sustainable farming practices.Read moreRead less
A soil ecological approach to increasing Australian crop productivity. The objective of this project is to use emerging genomics technologies to identify and characterize soil bacteria that allow the replacement of current agricultural fertilisers, which have significant environmental and economic disadvantages, with sustainable biological fertilisers. Soil bacteria can greatly enhance phosphate solubilization and hence availability for plant growth. Beneficial microbes will be identified from o ....A soil ecological approach to increasing Australian crop productivity. The objective of this project is to use emerging genomics technologies to identify and characterize soil bacteria that allow the replacement of current agricultural fertilisers, which have significant environmental and economic disadvantages, with sustainable biological fertilisers. Soil bacteria can greatly enhance phosphate solubilization and hence availability for plant growth. Beneficial microbes will be identified from our existing soil collection and their performance and persistence optimised. Concurrently, our industry partners will develop suitable microbial formulations for application. The outcomes of the project will be the use of biological fertilisers to enhance crop productivity in an environmentally sustainable manner.Read moreRead less
Below-ground processes: filling the missing gap in predicting the response of grain production to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) in southern Australia. Climate change is expected to have major impacts on the Australian grains industry, which is worth $7 billion annually. Although increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are expected to initially increase plant productivity, the realisation of these productivity benefits is expected to be limited by water and/or nutrient deficiencies. Given o ....Below-ground processes: filling the missing gap in predicting the response of grain production to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) in southern Australia. Climate change is expected to have major impacts on the Australian grains industry, which is worth $7 billion annually. Although increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are expected to initially increase plant productivity, the realisation of these productivity benefits is expected to be limited by water and/or nutrient deficiencies. Given our low rainfall and infertile soils, there is considerable uncertainty about the applicability of overseas data used to model how Australian grain systems will respond to climate change (especially elevated CO2). This project will lead to better predictions of the impact of climate change on Australian grain systems so that appropriate adaptation responses can be developed by government and industry.Read moreRead less
Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments ....Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments will also be assessed. The underlying mechanisms will be characterised, eg. by determining metal speciation in soil and assessing soil microbial community composition. The outcome of this project will contribute to sustainable agriculture by giving land managers options to reduce glyphosate damage in sensitive crops.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of soil microbial interactions for increased efficacy of herbicides using novel fertiliser management practices. Soil microbes are essential for nutrient cycling and plant root growth. This project aims to investigate whether herbicides influence soil biological processes when different types of fertilisers are used. It is expected that complex interactions between fertiliser practice and herbicides will alter herbicide efficacy in weed control. This project aims to compare nove ....Characterisation of soil microbial interactions for increased efficacy of herbicides using novel fertiliser management practices. Soil microbes are essential for nutrient cycling and plant root growth. This project aims to investigate whether herbicides influence soil biological processes when different types of fertilisers are used. It is expected that complex interactions between fertiliser practice and herbicides will alter herbicide efficacy in weed control. This project aims to compare novel fertiliser practices claimed to maximise benefits from soil microbial processes with traditional fertiliser practices which can override biological processes, including beneficial plant-microbial symbioses. This will enable a rigorous evaluation of fertiliser-herbicide interactions to clarify whether soil microbial benefits can be included as part of weed control programs.Read moreRead less