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Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences

Soils and the Environment

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Soil is the foundation for food production. It is a vital engine for socio-economic, environmental and population health.

Soil degradation is an ongoing threat to global food security. Australian farmers must manage their soil to meet the national and global demand for food both now and into the future, to continue as net exporters of food and fibre, and to ensure sustainable soil productivity.

The Soils and the Environment Research Group seeks to understand the impacts of agricultural management on soil processes and develop technology to improve agricultural sustainability. We carry out a range of fundamental and applied research with the aim to help policy makers, industry partners and farmers make evidence-based decisions. Our research areas include:

  • Synchronisation of nutrients and water resources. This includes our work on greenhouse gas emission monitoring and mitigation, nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency, soil-plant-atmosphere process modelling, high efficiency fertilizers, remote sensing and precision agriculture technologies.
  • Recovery of resources from wastes. This includes our work on recycling of urban food waste and agricultural waste.
  • Fundamental and applied soil ecology. This includes understanding microbial community structure- function relationships, antimicrobial resistance in the environment, and suppression of soil-borne diseases.
  • Agricultural economics, agricultural sustainability indicators and food credentials. This includes nitrogen assessment and nitrogen footprint.
  • Plant health and pathology

The Group partners with other institutions in research in various joint research Centres:

  • Australia-China Joint Research Centre – Healthy soils for sustainable food production and environmental quality

Contact

We are based at the University of Melbourne's Parkville and Dookie campus.

Address

Parkville Campus:

Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences
The University of Melbourne
Building 184, Royal Parade
Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia

Dookie Campus:

940 Dookie-Nalinga Road, 
Dookie College VIC 3647Australia
Ph: +61 3 5833 9200

Next : Research

The Soils and the Environment group have five key research areas

The Group research areas include:

  1. Synchronisation of nutrients and water resources - This includes our work on greenhouse gas emission monitoring and mitigation, nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency, soil-plant-atmosphere process modelling, high efficiency fertilizers, remote sensing and precision agriculture technologies.
  2. Recovery of resources from agricultural and urban wastes - This includes our work on recycling of urban food waste and agricultural waste.
  3. Fundamental and applied soil ecology - This includes understanding microbial community structure- function relationships, antimicrobial resistance in the environment, and suppression of soil-borne diseases.
  4. Agricultural economics, agricultural sustainability indicators and food credentials - This includes nitrogen assessment and nitrogen footprinting.
  5. Plant pathology

Synchronisation of nutrients and water resources

Efficient use of nutrients and water are key components of sustainable agriculture. Research within this theme looks at the development of enhanced efficiency fertilisers, precision agriculture and decision-making tools.

Current projects include:

1. New fertilizer technologies for sustained food security (ARC- LP160101417)

This project aims to provide fundamental research to develop next-generation fertiliser products that will improve nitrogen use efficiency, and reduce nitrogen losses in food production systems. It will achieve this goal through a multidisciplinary approach combining experts in synthetic and free radical chemistry, chemical engineering and soil science, with a strong commitment from a fertiliser industry partner. Society is facing the triple challenges of food security, environmental degradation and climate change. The availability of new, highly-efficient fertilisers is critical for addressing these challenges, and for the competitive advantage of the Australian fertiliser industry.

Project team: Prof Deli Chen (Project leader), Prof Geoff Stevens (co-lead), A/Prof Uta Wille (co-lead), Dr Kathryn Mumford, Dr Helen Suter, Dr Shu Kee Lam, Dr Hang Wei Hu and external partners.

Project team: Deli Chen (Project leader), Geoff Stevens (co-lead), Uta Wille (co-lead), Kathryn Mumford, Helen Suter, Raymond, Shu Kee Lam, Hangwei Hu and external partners

2. More Profit from Nitrogen – Improving dairy farm nitrogen efficiency using advanced technologies (DAWR, Dairy Australia, The University of Melbourne)

The project aims to improve nitrogen use efficiency in dairy systems for profitability and environmental benefit. Specifically, the project aims to understand N supply from mineralisation in rainfed and irrigated dairy pastures of SW Victoria, and to assess the suitability of more advanced measurement techniques such as hyperspectral imagery, for predicting N requirements and supply in these pastures. A tool will be developed to help farmers understand the drivers of mineralisation and to aid with decision making around N fertilisation, particularly in the autumn and spring seasons.

Project team: Helen Suter (Project leader), Oxana Belyaeva (Lead researcher), Deli Chen, Jim He, Alexis Pang and external partners.

3. Management of nutrients for improved profitability and sustainability of crop production in Central Myanmar (ACIAR-SMCN/2014/044)

It is widely recognised that the underperformance of crops in Myanmar is closely related to the inadequate supply of nutrients, particularly nitrogen. Myanmar rice growers have changed from being mainly subsistence to semi-subsistence (rice for home consumption with the excess sold to augment family income), and there are also good prospects for increasing rice exports. Therefore there are incentives to improve rice yields and profits. Similarly for maize, as a higher value crop, there is a strong incentive to improve production and profits. The overall aim of the project is to increase incomes and strengthen local food security of small-scale farmers and their families in central Myanmar by improved fertiliser use and associated crop management practices. Research will be complemented by capacity building of Myanmar agricultural scientists and academics to sustain and promote improved management practices, and resulting improvements to livelihoods, well into the future.

Project team: Deli Chen (co-lead), Jim He (co-lead), Bob Farquharson(co-lead), Tony Weatherley, Simon Eldridge (Lead researcher), Helen Suter, Ian Willett, Yong Li and external partners.

4. Long-term total greenhouse gas emissions from beef feedlots (funded by Meat and Livestock Australia)

It aims to measure annual emissions of a NH3, N2O, CH4 and CO2 using a range of measurement technologies (open path laser, open path FTIR, chambers, flux gradient and dispersion model). We assess the apportioning of those annual emissions to locations or systems within the feedlot (e.g. emissions associated with animals, feeding systems, manure management, lagoons or downwind atmospheric deposition), and validate existing models to develop best practice options or decision tools to abate emissions. Furthermore, we investigate the impacts of operational practices and processes on these emissions (critical point analysis) and understand system interdependency by integrating GHG and economic frameworks.

Project team: Deli Chen (Project leader), Mei Bai, Xiao xian Li, Trevor Coates, and external partners.

5. Optimising Nitrogen Recovery in Intensive Animal Production Facilities (Cooperative Research Centres Projects)

Intensive dairy, pork and poultry industries share the common practice of housing animals through all or part of their productive life. This leads to a concentration of animal waste, high nitrogen loss, detrimental environmental impacts, and health risks. The project will develop cost-effective commercial management of waste for long-term sustainable intensification of the industries, while increasing agricultural productivity, protecting natural resources, and producing high value fertilisers.

Project team: Deli Chen (co-lead), Jim He (co-lead), Helen Suter (co-lead), Tony Weatherley, Bhawana Bhatta, Mei Bai, Bob Farquharson, Richard Eckard, Frank Dunshea, Peter Scales, Yong Li, Raymond, Shu Kee Lam, Rui Liu, Ee Ling Ng and external partners.

Recently concluded projects include:

1. Mitigation of indirect greenhouse gases in intensive agricultural production systems with the use of inhibitors (Department of Agriculture, Incitec Pivot Limited)

The objectives of the project were to (i) quantify the ammonia volatilisation from two intensive agricultural production systems (dairy and vegetables) from application of fertilisers or, in the case of vegetables, manures, amended with urease and/or nitrification inhibitors; (ii) determine the fate of applied N through 15N studies; (iii) assess productivity benefits associated with the use of the urease and/or nitrification inhibitors; and (iv) quantify impacts on other loss pathways e.g. N2O.

Project team: Helen Suter (Project leader), Raymond, Shu Kee Lam (Lead researcher)

2. Reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from applied nitrogen with nitrification inhibitors: Identification of the key drivers of performance (Department of Agriculture, Incitec Pivot Limited)

This project aimed to

  • Quantify the ability of nitrification inhibitors to reduce nitrification and N2O emissions from soils and identify the key soil properties affecting their efficacy;
  • Assess the potential productivity gains that can be achieved through the use of nitrification inhibitor amended fertilisers in field experiments in two southern Australian high loss production systems (dairy and high rainfall zone cropping); and
  • Develop a model algorithm that will describe the impact of nitrification inhibitors on nitrification and N2O emissions from fertilisers.

Project team: Deli Chen (Project leader), Helen Suter (Lead researcher).

Recovery of resources from agricultural and urban wastes

Agricultural production systems are sub-optimal in their waste management and materials regarded as wastes are often valuable co-products. Research within this theme looks at the production of stable, pathogen-free bioproducts, understanding nutrient dynamics of recycled agricultural wastes and the use of the bioproducts inoculated with beneficial microbes to suppress soil-borne pathogens.

Current projects include:

1. Optimising Nitrogen Recovery in Intensive Animal Production Facilities (Cooperative Research Centres Projects)

Intensive dairy, pork and poultry industries share the common practice of housing animals through all or part of their productive life. This leads to a concentration of animal waste, high nitrogen loss, detrimental environmental impacts, and health risks. The project will develop cost-effective commercial management of waste for long-term sustainable intensification of the industries, while increasing agricultural productivity, protecting natural resources, and producing high value fertilisers.

Project team: Deli Chen (co-lead), Jim He (co-lead), Helen Suter (co-lead), Tony Weatherley, Bhawana Bhatta, Mei Bai, Bob Farquharson, Richard Eckard, Frank Dunshea, Peter Scales, Yong Li, Raymond, Shu Kee Lam, Rui Liu, Ee Ling Ng and external partners.

Fundamental and applied soil ecology

Current projects include:

1. Understanding the transmission of antibiotic resistance in agro-ecosystems (ARC DP170103628, $399800)

The emerging spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) represents a serious threat to human health. However, we have very limited knowledge about the pathways and mechanisms for transmission of ARGs in the environment. This project will use advanced molecular approaches to investigate all the major classes of ARGs in typical vegetable farms and animal manure, and to explore the major routes for transmission of ARGs from manure to soil and from rhizosphere to the vegetable surfaces and endophytic bacterial communities. The results will be integrated to identify the priority ARGs indicators with high likelihood of spread into food chain, and contribute to the development of management options to tackle environmental antibiotic resistance.

Project team: Jim He (Project leader), Hangwei Hu (Lead researcher), and external partners

2. Soil microbial indicators for efficient use of nitrification inhibitors (ARC LP160101134)

Nitrification inhibitors are one tool widely used to improve nitrogen fertiliser efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas nitrous oxide emissions. However their effectiveness is variable across soil types and one possible reason is the different microbial communities that exist in these soils. The project addresses the key knowledge gaps of interactions between the nitrification inhibitors and the soil functional microbial communities. The project aims to fundamentally improve our understanding of the efficiency and governing factors of the nitrification inhibitors in different agricultural soils, and thus provide guidance to develop sound management strategies to improve fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency in Australian Agricultural soils.

Project team: Jim He (Project leader), Helen Suter, Deli Chen and external partners.

3. Unravelling the microbial mechanisms of soil nitrous oxide emissions (ARC DE150100870, $342000)

Soil ecosystems are believed to be the most dominant sources of global nitrous oxide emissions. However, mitigations of nitrous oxide are strongly hindered by lack of knowledge on microbial mechanisms underpinning its production. This project will integrate a range of advanced approaches to: (1) identify the key nitrogen cycling genes as best predictors of nitrous oxide in field studies; (2) disentangle relative contribution of microbial pathways to nitrous oxide in glasshouse and microcosm studies; and (3) validate these findings across various land-use types in Australia and China. This will provide a critical framework incorporating microbial data into the nitrous oxide prediction models for better mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

Project team: Hangwei Hu (Project leader), Xiu Zhen Shi.

4. Reserving nitrogen in soils through microbial nitrate reduction to ammonium (ARC DP160101028, $248000)

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.

Project team: Jim He (Project leader), Deli Chen, Rui Liu, Eric Ireland.

Agricultural economics, sustainability indicators and food credentials

We carry out research to develop a new framework to embed soil management information into sustainability benchmark for agricultural products through the production of evidence based footprints. This work is of interest to all partners in the agricultural and food supply chains and will be informed through active engagement with SAI Platform (retail and supply chain partners) as well as growers.

Current projects include:

1. Understanding the role of soil indices and efficiencies of fertilizers in developing N footprinting.

This project aims to take multiple approaches to understand how reactive nitrogen (Nr) issues interact with both human and natural factors. Australia has unique challenges in managing Nr issues associated with high energy and animal protein consumption, high coastal population density, and high level of exports of agricultural products. The major components are 1) The nitrogen (N) footprint: a consumer-based indicator to connect lifestyle choices (food and energy) with Nr release in Australia; 2) The N assessment: an overall N budget that includes the costs and benefits of Nr use in Australia; 3) The Nr release index: an index for benchmarking Australian agricultural products against other nations. The project will provide a framework for the future sustainable use of Nr for food, environment and climate change in Australia.

Project team: Deli Chen (Project leader), Baojing Gu, Raymond, Shu Kee Lam, Emma Liang, Baobao Pan

2. Management of nutrients for improved profitability and sustainability of crop production in Central Myanmar (ACIAR-SMCN/2014/044)

It is widely recognised that the underperformance of crops in Myanmar is closely related to the inadequate supply of nutrients, particularly nitrogen. Myanmar rice growers have changed from being mainly subsistence to semi-subsistence (rice for home consumption with the excess sold to augment family income), and there are also good prospects for increasing rice exports. Therefore there are incentives to improve rice yields and profits. Similarly for maize, as a higher value crop, there is a strong incentive to improve production and profits. The overall aim of the project is to increase incomes and strengthen local food security of small-scale farmers and their families in central Myanmar by improved fertiliser use and associated crop management practices. Research will be complemented by capacity building of Myanmar agricultural scientists and academics to sustain and promote improved management practices, and resulting improvements to livelihoods, well into the future.

Project team: Deli Chen (co-lead), Jim He (co-lead), Bob Farquharson (co-lead), Tony Weatherley, Simon Eldridge (Lead researcher), Helen Suter, Ian Willett, Yong Li and external partners.

Plant health and plant pathology

The plant health team has achieved exceptional distinction in advancing research in the following areas: genome mapping - development of the first molecular genome linkage maps of chickpea, lentil and the fungal pathogen Ascochyta rabiei; and the identification of major loci for plant disease resistance genes and fungal mating type genes.

We also work on plant pathology. Our work includes the evaluation of the biology, life cycle, pathotypes and population genetics of fungal pathogens involved in diseases of horticultural and agricultural crops including chili, potato, chickpea, lentil and pyrethrum. We use molecular plant pathology techniques to validate the taxonomy of fungal pathogens, development of fungal transformation systems, and identification of major genes involved in pathogenicity during infection.

Next : People

Researchers Research area and interests
Prof Deli Chen Nitrogen cycling; agricultural sustainability indices; mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions; enhanced efficiency fertilizers; precision agriculture; soil science
Prof Jim He Soil biology (microbial ecology, biogeography); nutrient cycling; soil remediation; environmental microbiology; soil science
Prof Paul Taylor Plant pathology; plant health; host-pathogen interaction; disease resistance; development of PCR-based diagnostic tests for pathogens
Dr Tony Weatherley Urban food waste recycling; phosphorus cycling; biochar; soil science
Dr Helen Suter Nitrogen cycling; soil science; greenhouse gas mitigation from agriculture; nitrogen fertiliser and sustainable agricultural production; crop and pasture nutrition
Dr Bob Farquharson Value chain analysis; smallholder perspective and decision about technology in least developed countries; economic modelling; environmental economic assessment
Dr Mei Bai Greenhouse gas emissions in vegetable and livestock farming; agricultural waste management
Dr Shu Kee Lam Soil carbon and nitrogen cycling under climate change; Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments; mitigation of reactive nitrogen emissions
Dr Hang Wei Hu Microbial ecology, environmental microbiology, environmental resistome, nitrogen-cycling processes, and microbial biotechnology
Dr Ee Ling Ng Soil ecology under climate change; soil biogeochemical cycling; ecological risk assessment; agricultural and urban organic waste management
Dr Oxana Belyaeva Soil fertility, soil biology, N and C cycling in soils, soil-plant-atmosphere interaction
Dr Rui Liu Soil biology; nitrogen cycling; greenhouse gas emissions under global change; nitrogen use efficiency; agricultural waste management
Dr Simon Eldridge Nutrient cycling; agriculture waste management
Dr Yong Li Greenhouse gas emissions in cropping and animal systems
Mr Trevor Coates Greenhouse gas emissions; nitrogen cycling; eddy covariance technique
Dr Bhawana Bhatta Biochar; nitrogen cycling; nutrient recovery from waste; waste management
Alexis Pang GISc; ecohydrology; erosion modelling; precision agriculture
Lab management and technical support
Michael Hall
Students
Tina, Hang Gao Nutrient recovery from organic waste, food waste management, waste bioconversion technique, phosphorus use efficiency, soil nutrient cycling, soil science. Research project: An evaluation of fast processed urban food waste as a soil organic amendment
Eric Ireland Soil nitrogen cycling - particularly dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), soil microbial ecology.
Yu Jing Zhang Soil ecology, environmental and crop resistome
Xia (Emma) Liang Nitrogen footprint; Nitrogen cycling; Agricultural sustainability indices; Institutional sustainability
Visiting Scholars
Taiji Kou C and N cycle in agroecosystem and climate change
Dr Maofang Gao Nitrogen cycle modeling; livestock breeding and manure management modelling; thermal remote sensing; solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence; GIS spatial analysis.
Wei Kang Mechanism of bio-remediation effect on resistant microbiology to heavy metal and antibiotic in polluted soil; Ecological risk evaluation.

Next : People

We love doing outreach in the Soils and the Environment Group!

This includes working with farmers or Landcare groups, writing pieces for general audiences, talking to people interested in soil, engaging high-school students, and more. Examples of activities can be viewed here and here.

If you’re interested in getting in touch with us regarding a possible outreach activity, please email Ee Ling (eeling@unimelb.edu.au).

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