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7 February 2006
E H Graham Centre researchers make their mark at root/soil biology conference
Six E H Graham Centre researchers attended the annual CSIRO Plant Industry conference on root/soil biology held recently at the CSIRO Black Mountain laboratories from the 1-4 February. The conference provided an invaluable series of presentations by a diverse range of international plant and soil biologists combined with two days of practical sessions.
Sergio Moroni, Simon Clarke, Emily Grace (University of Adelaide) and Nicola Wunderlich hand sectioning at the root/soil biology workshop. Photo Rosemary White.
Centre researchers attending the conference included Honours candidate Nicola Wunderlich, PhD candidate Bree Wilson, Dr Sergio Moroni, Dr Alexa Seal, Dr Simon Clarke and Prof Jim Pratley. Prof Pratley gave a presentation entitled 'Recent advances in the understanding of allelopathic interactions in the rhizosphere' in which he emphasised the importance of new modes of weed control in Australian agriculture and provided a multitude of examples of allelopathic interactions between plants.
One of the most impressive presentations of the conference was given by John Farrar (University of Wales) who explained how radioactive carbon can be used to trace the flow of carbon fixed by leaves throughout the plant and into the soil via exudates. John followed this presentation with a practical session on the use of radioactive tracers in the study of plant and soil environments in which he explained the importance of careful experimental design and the strengths and weaknesses of the field and lab methods he has used.
Other impressive presentations were given by David Roget (CSIRO) who explained how intensive cereal cropping can enhance the sustainability of agricultural landscapes, Roger Reid (University of Adelaide) who reviewed recent advances in our understanding of the toxic effects of boron on wheat, and Catherine Osborne (University of Melbourne) who discussed the priming effect that hydrogen released by plants can have on soil microbial communities.
The last day of the conference was lead by Margaret McCully (CSIRO) and provided participants with hands-on training in basic and high-tech microscope techniques used to study plant tissues and soil residues. Reflecting their keen interest in soil-plant interactions, approximately 25 % of the limited places in the training sessions were occupied by Graham Centre researchers. Almost as impressive as Margaret's knowledge of plant-soil interactions was the cryo-analytical SEM which permits the study of frozen residues, thus avoiding some of the complications associated with traditional microscope techniques.
More information on the conference can be found on the CSIRO website.