All Outputs (12)

Arable soil nitrogen dynamics reflect organic inputs via the extended composite phenotype (2022)
Journal Article
Neal, A. L., Barrat, H. A., Bacq-Lebreuil, A., Qin, Y., Zhang, X., Takahashi, T., …Crawford, J. W. (2023). Arable soil nitrogen dynamics reflect organic inputs via the extended composite phenotype. Nature Food, 4, 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00671-z

Achieving food security requires resilient agricultural systems with improved nutrient-use efficiency, optimized water and nutrient storage in soils, and reduced gaseous emissions. Success relies on understanding coupled nitrogen and carbon metabolis... Read More about Arable soil nitrogen dynamics reflect organic inputs via the extended composite phenotype.

No evidence for persistent natural plague reservoirs in historical and modern Europe (2022)
Journal Article
Stenseth, N. C., Tao, Y., Zhang, C., Bramanti, B., Büntgen, U., Cong, X., …Xu, L. (2022). No evidence for persistent natural plague reservoirs in historical and modern Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(51), Article e2209816119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209816119

Caused by Yersinia pestis, plague ravaged the world through three known pandemics: the First or the Justinianic (6th–8th century); the Second (beginning with the Black Death during c.1338–1353 and lasting until the 19th century); and the Third (which... Read More about No evidence for persistent natural plague reservoirs in historical and modern Europe.

Optimising the Scanning Process: Demystifying the Dark Art of Optimising Microtomography Scan Settings (2022)
Book Chapter
Sturrock, C. J. (2022). Optimising the Scanning Process: Demystifying the Dark Art of Optimising Microtomography Scan Settings. In S. Jon Mooney, I. M. Young, R. J. Heck, & S. Peth (Eds.), X-ray Imaging of the Soil Porous Architecture (39-55). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12176-0_4

X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT) is now becoming an accessible technology to quantify soil structure metrics. However, optimising images from X-ray CT systems remains a challenging task. Understanding the influence of the wide range of settings t... Read More about Optimising the Scanning Process: Demystifying the Dark Art of Optimising Microtomography Scan Settings.

Hydraulic flux–responsive hormone redistribution determines root branching (2022)
Journal Article
Mehra, P., Pandey, B. K., Melebari, D., Banda, J., Leftley, N., Couvreur, V., …Bennett, M. J. (2022). Hydraulic flux–responsive hormone redistribution determines root branching. Science, 378(6621), 762-768. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.add3771

Plant roots exhibit plasticity in their branching patterns to forage efficiently for heterogeneously distributed resources, such as soil water. The xerobranching response represses lateral root formation when roots lose contact with water. Here, we s... Read More about Hydraulic flux–responsive hormone redistribution determines root branching.

A Comparison of the Differences in Soil Structure under Long-Term Conservation Agriculture Relative to a Secondary Forest (2022)
Journal Article
Pires, L. F., Ferreira, T. R., Cássaro, F. A. M., Cooper, H. V., & Mooney, S. J. (2022). A Comparison of the Differences in Soil Structure under Long-Term Conservation Agriculture Relative to a Secondary Forest. Agriculture, 12(11), Article 1783. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111783

Conservation agriculture is increasingly preferred to conventional methods due to its benefits in promoting more sustainable soil management. Our study aims to compare physical and morphological properties, at the microscale, of soils under long-term... Read More about A Comparison of the Differences in Soil Structure under Long-Term Conservation Agriculture Relative to a Secondary Forest.

Defining the scope for altering rice leaf anatomy to improve photosynthesis: a modelling approach (2022)
Journal Article
Xiao, Y., Sloan, J., Hepworth, C., Fradera-Soler, M., Mathers, A., Thorley, R., …Zhu, X. (2023). Defining the scope for altering rice leaf anatomy to improve photosynthesis: a modelling approach. New Phytologist, 237(2), 441-453. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18564

Leaf structure plays an important role in photosynthesis. However, the causal relationship and the quantitative importance of any single structural parameter to the overall photosynthetic performance of a leaf remains open to debate. In this paper, w... Read More about Defining the scope for altering rice leaf anatomy to improve photosynthesis: a modelling approach.

Soil pore system complexity and heterogeneity as affected by contrasting management practices (2022)
Journal Article
De Oliveira, J. A. T., Pires, L. F., Cássaro, F. A. M., Gaspareto, J. V., Posadas, A. N. D., & Mooney, S. J. (2022). Soil pore system complexity and heterogeneity as affected by contrasting management practices. Soil and Tillage Research, 224, Article 105497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2022.105497

To better understand the changes that occur in soil systems at different scales, researchers have been using concepts from the multifractal theory for investigating intricate and heterogeneous complex structures. This analysis has also been applied t... Read More about Soil pore system complexity and heterogeneity as affected by contrasting management practices.

Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism (2022)
Journal Article
Fusi, R., Rosignoli, S., Lou, H., Sangiorgi, G., Bovina, R., Pattem, J. K., …Salvi, S. (2022). Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

Root angle in crops represents a key trait for efficient capture of soil resources. Root angle is determined by competing gravitropic versus anti-gravitropic offset (AGO) mechanisms. Here we report a new root angle regulatory gene termed ENHANCED GRA... Read More about Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism.

Ethylene inhibits rice root elongation in compacted soil via ABA- and auxin-mediated mechanisms (2022)
Journal Article
Huang, G., Kilic, A., Karady, M., Zhang, J., Mehra, P., Song, X., …Pandey, B. K. (2022). Ethylene inhibits rice root elongation in compacted soil via ABA- and auxin-mediated mechanisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(30), Article e2201072119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201072119

Soil compaction represents a major agronomic challenge, inhibiting root elongation and impacting crop yields. Roots use ethylene to sense soil compaction as the restricted air space causes this gaseous signal to accumulate around root tips. Ethylene... Read More about Ethylene inhibits rice root elongation in compacted soil via ABA- and auxin-mediated mechanisms.

A new theory for soil health (2022)
Journal Article
Harris, J. A., Evans, D. L., & Mooney, S. J. (2022). A new theory for soil health. European Journal of Soil Science, 73(4), Article e13292. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13292

The term “soil health” has captured the interest of government, and land managers, whilst the academic community has struggled to rationalise its use and wider benefit. It has proved a powerful tool in conveying best practice to a lay audience. Howev... Read More about A new theory for soil health.

Zero tillage has important consequences for soil pore architecture and hydraulic transport: A review (2022)
Journal Article
Wardak, D. L. R., Padia, F. N., de Heer, M. I., Sturrock, C. J., & Mooney, S. J. (2022). Zero tillage has important consequences for soil pore architecture and hydraulic transport: A review. Geoderma, 422, Article 115927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.115927

Following the adoption of zero-tillage (ZT) from conventional tillage (CT), the soil pore network undergoes immediate and significant changes. As soil remains undisturbed for an extended period, a soil structure emerges that is primarily generated an... Read More about Zero tillage has important consequences for soil pore architecture and hydraulic transport: A review.

X-ray CT reveals 4D root system development and lateral root responses to nitrate in soil (2022)
Journal Article
Griffiths, M., Mellor, N., Sturrock, C. J., Atkinson, B. S., Johnson, J., Mairhofer, S., …Wells, D. M. (2022). X-ray CT reveals 4D root system development and lateral root responses to nitrate in soil. Plant Phenome Journal, 5(1), Article e20036. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.20036

The spatial arrangement of the root system, termed root system architecture, is important for resource acquisition as it directly affects the soil zone explored. Methods for phenotyping roots are mostly destructive, which prevents analysis of roots o... Read More about X-ray CT reveals 4D root system development and lateral root responses to nitrate in soil.