Current
Kim Mosse, PhD 2008
Investigations into the suitability of using winery wastewater for irrigation, with particular emphasis on soil and plant health. The wine industry is growing, environmental regulations are getting tighter – what to do with the wastewater produced? Kim is looking at the effects that winery wastewater has on soil health (microbiological activity, physicochemical structure) and plant growth, with the aim of determining whether the wastewater could actually be used as a valuable water resource.
Megan Wong, PhD 2008
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for symbiotic associations with the majority of land plants. These associations play an important role in plant nutrient acquisition, growth and ecology (amongst other benefits!). Given their importance, Megan is interested in the mycorrhizal status of plants within grassland remnants of the semi-arid Northern Plains Grasslands of Victoria and the role that these symbioses play in plant nutrient acquisition and plant community structure.
Jenna Forbes. Honours 2008
Jenna is examining the effects of differing light and nutrient levels on exotic pasture grass, Phalaris aquatica. This will give an insight into how dominant the species is in different landscape conditions, and what influence these variables have over population success over time.
Kim Damsma. Honours 2008
Kim is investigating competitive interactions between the native grass Austrodanthonia caespitosa and an invasive weed Phalaris aquatica, on Lake Mokoan soils. This project involves growing the two species from seed at different plant densities in a glasshouse environment, in order to shed light on plant competition and the implications there of, for wetland restoration. The project involves soil sampling at Lake Mokoan in northern Victoria and laboratory and glasshouse studies
Katherine Rainbow. BIO3990 project, 2007; Research Assistant, 2008
Katherine studied the impact of manure inputs on nutrient cycling in riparian and pasture soils. It was a little bit smelly! As a research assistant, she has been working on projects investigating the role of mycorrhizas in zinc uptake in a number of soils. The projects have taken me to a sheep farm, Lake Mokoan and the Cranbourne Botanical gardens on field work. Katherine also like to swing dance.
Laura Williams. Research Assistant, 2008
My recent work has centred on the dynamics, threats and restoration of plant communities in the degraded lowland riparian zones of the Murray Darling Basin. This has included producing a report [link here] for the Goulburn Broken CMA on the biology, ecology and threats of Phalaris aquatica an important pasture species that is also a serious environmental weed. This report provides an essential first step toward effectively managing Phalaris in Australian ecosystems.
Alumni
Julie Tran. Honours 2007-8
A growth comparison between P. aquatica and A. caespitosa in the context of wetland restoration of Lake Mokoan, Victoria. Julie studied the growth and mycorrhizal colonization of a native grass and an invasive grass in soils collected from Lake Mokoan in northern Victoria. Plants were grown in soils collected from locations that had not been flooded for 1 or 20 years. Soil physicochemical properties were also compared between sites.
Bronny Burger. Honours 2007-8, BIO 3990 Project 2007
Identifying changes to soil properties and vegetation in restored and remnant riparian zones of lowland streams: is restoration a success? Bronny studied the changes in vegetation of soil properties along a riparian restoration chronosequence. Key findings of this work inlcde an observed increase in soil C in with time since restoration and the need to cisnder ajacent land use in when investigating riparian nutrient cycling.
Lauran Pearce. BIO3990 project 2008
Lauran studied below-ground properties, including soil type, soil moisture and leaf litter cover along a 600 m elevation gradient (Mt. Sturgeon) in the Grampians National Park. These properties were compared with above-ground characteristics, specifically plant water potential, in Xanthorrhoea australis.
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