All Outputs (83)

Biochar as a sustainable alternative to açaí waste disposal in Amazon, Brazil (2020)
Journal Article
de Freitas Maia, C. M. B., Silva Pedroso, A. J., Noronha Costa, A., de Lima, H. V., Sato, M. K., Rodrigues, S., …Clarke, M. (2020). Biochar as a sustainable alternative to açaí waste disposal in Amazon, Brazil. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 139, 36-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2020.04.001

© 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers The açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart) is native to the floodplains of central and South America and is cultivated in Brazil for its berries, which are considered to be a ‘superfood’. The waste açaí fiber and s... Read More about Biochar as a sustainable alternative to açaí waste disposal in Amazon, Brazil.

Physiological and yield response in maize in cohesive tropical soil is improved through the addition of gypsum and leguminous mulch (2020)
Journal Article
Moura, E. G., Hallett, P. D., Mooney, S. J., Silva, F. R., Macedo, V. R., & Aguiar, A. C. F. (2020). Physiological and yield response in maize in cohesive tropical soil is improved through the addition of gypsum and leguminous mulch. Journal of Agricultural Science, 158(1-2), 57-64. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859620000192

Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020. Tropical soils tend to harden during drying due to the generally low content of free-iron and organic carbon, combined with high fine sand and silt proportions. It was hypothesized that the change in soil... Read More about Physiological and yield response in maize in cohesive tropical soil is improved through the addition of gypsum and leguminous mulch.

Brachiaria species influence nitrate transport in soil by modifying soil structure with their root system (2020)
Journal Article
Rosolem, C. A., Pires, L. F., Hallett, P. D., Galdos, M. V., Brown, E., & Mooney, S. J. (2020). Brachiaria species influence nitrate transport in soil by modifying soil structure with their root system. Scientific Reports, 10(1), Article 5072. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61986-0

Leaching of nitrate from fertilisers diminishes nitrogen use efficiency (the portion of nitrogen used by a plant) and is a major source of agricultural pollution. To improve nitrogen capture, grasses such as brachiaria are increasingly used, especial... Read More about Brachiaria species influence nitrate transport in soil by modifying soil structure with their root system.

Potential of geoelectrical methods to monitor root zone processes and structure: A review (2020)
Journal Article
Cimpoiasu, M. O., Kuras, O., Pridmore, T., & Mooney, S. J. (2020). Potential of geoelectrical methods to monitor root zone processes and structure: A review. Geoderma, 365, 114232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114232

© 2020 Understanding the processes that control mass and energy exchanges between soil, plants and the atmosphere plays a critical role for understanding the root zone system, but it is also beneficial for practical applications such as sustainable a... Read More about Potential of geoelectrical methods to monitor root zone processes and structure: A review.

Ecosystem services for intensification of agriculture, with emphasis on increased nitrogen ecological use efficiency (2020)
Journal Article
Sena, V. G., de Moura, E. G., Macedo, V. R., Aguiar, A. C., Price, A. H., Mooney, S. J., & Calonego, J. C. (2020). Ecosystem services for intensification of agriculture, with emphasis on increased nitrogen ecological use efficiency. Ecosphere, 11(2), Article e03028. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3028

© 2020 The Authors. In weathered tropical soil, low nutrient use efficiency can lead to agricultural systems becoming unsustainable. Therefore, tropical agriculture is highly dependent on ecosystem services, such as nutrient recycling and carbon sequ... Read More about Ecosystem services for intensification of agriculture, with emphasis on increased nitrogen ecological use efficiency.

X-ray microtomography analysis of soil pore structure dynamics under wetting and drying cycles (2020)
Journal Article
Pires, L. F., Auler, A. C., Roque, W. L., & Mooney, S. J. (2020). X-ray microtomography analysis of soil pore structure dynamics under wetting and drying cycles. Geoderma, 362, Article 114103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.114103

The soil water retention curve is one of the most important properties used to predict the amount of water available to plants, pore size distribution and hydraulic conductivity, as well as knowledge for drainage and irrigation modeling. Depending on... Read More about X-ray microtomography analysis of soil pore structure dynamics under wetting and drying cycles.

Cover crops affect the partial nitrogen balance in a maize-forage cropping system (2019)
Journal Article
Rocha, K., Souza, M., Almeida, D., Chadwick, D., Jones, D., & Mooney, S. (2020). Cover crops affect the partial nitrogen balance in a maize-forage cropping system. Geoderma, 360, 114000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.114000

Part of the nitrogen (N) fertilizer applied to crops is lost to the environment, contributing to global warming, eutrophication, and groundwater contamination. However, low N supply stimulates soil organic N turnover and carbon (C) loss, since the so... Read More about Cover crops affect the partial nitrogen balance in a maize-forage cropping system.

Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) affects soil structure differently depending on soil texture (2019)
Journal Article
Bacq-Labreuil, A., Crawford, J., Mooney, S., Neal, A., & Ritz, K. (2019). Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) affects soil structure differently depending on soil texture. Plant and Soil, 441(1-2), 543-554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04144-4

© 2019, The Author(s). Aims: We studied the effects of Phacelia tanacetifolia, increasingly used as a cover-crop species in arable agricultural systems, upon soil structural properties in the context of two contrasting soil textures. We hypothesised... Read More about Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) affects soil structure differently depending on soil texture.

Impact of soil puddling intensity on the root system architecture of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings (2019)
Journal Article
Fang, H., Rong, H., Hallett, P. D., Mooney, S. J., Zhang, W., Zhou, H., & Peng, X. (2019). Impact of soil puddling intensity on the root system architecture of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings. Soil and Tillage Research, 193, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.05.022

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Puddling of rice paddies is undertaken to create a soft soil bed for easy transplanting of rice seedlings, to control weeds and reduce water and nutrient leaching. There is a drive for less intense puddling because of its physica... Read More about Impact of soil puddling intensity on the root system architecture of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings.

Cover crop species have contrasting influence upon soil structural genesis and microbial community phenotype (2019)
Journal Article
Bacq-Labreuil, A., Crawford, J., Mooney, S. J., Neal, A. L., & Ritz, K. (2019). Cover crop species have contrasting influence upon soil structural genesis and microbial community phenotype. Scientific Reports, 9, Article 7473. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43937-6

Cover crops (plants grown in an agricultural rotation between cash crops) can significantly improve soil quality via sequestering carbon, retaining nutrients, decreasing soil erosion, and maintaining belowground biodiversity. However, little is know... Read More about Cover crop species have contrasting influence upon soil structural genesis and microbial community phenotype.

Variable water cycles have a greater impact on wheat growth and soil nitrogen response than constant watering (2019)
Journal Article
Cousins, O. H., Garnett, T. P., Rasmussen, A., Mooney, S. J., Smernik, R. J., Brien, C. J., & Cavagnaro, T. R. (2020). Variable water cycles have a greater impact on wheat growth and soil nitrogen response than constant watering. Plant Science, 290, Article 110146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.05.009

© 2019 Current climate change models project that water availability will become more erratic in the future. With soil nitrogen (N) supply coupled to water availability, it is important to understand the combined effects of variable water and N suppl... Read More about Variable water cycles have a greater impact on wheat growth and soil nitrogen response than constant watering.

3D analysis of the soil porous architecture under long term contrasting management systems by X-ray Computed Tomography (2019)
Journal Article
Pires, L., Roque, W., Rosa, J., & Mooney, S. (2019). 3D analysis of the soil porous architecture under long term contrasting management systems by X-ray Computed Tomography. Soil and Tillage Research, 191, 197-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.02.018

The development of adequate soil structure is important for achieving good physical status, which influences the sustainability of agricultural areas. Different management systems lead to the development of a wide range of soil pore network character... Read More about 3D analysis of the soil porous architecture under long term contrasting management systems by X-ray Computed Tomography.

Multiple abiotic stress, nitrate availability and the growth of wheat (2019)
Journal Article
Ge, Y., Hawkesford, M., Rosolem, C., Mooney, S., Ashton, R., Evans, J., & Whalley, W. (2019). Multiple abiotic stress, nitrate availability and the growth of wheat. Soil and Tillage Research, 191, 171-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.04.005

In the field, wheat experiences a combination of physical and nutrient stresses. There has been a tendency to study root impedance and water stress in separation and less is known about how they might interact. In this study, we investigated the effe... Read More about Multiple abiotic stress, nitrate availability and the growth of wheat.

The role of plant species and soil condition in the structural development of the rhizosphere (2019)
Journal Article
Helliwell, J., Sturrock, C., Miller, A., Whalley, W., & Mooney, S. (2019). The role of plant species and soil condition in the structural development of the rhizosphere. Plant, Cell and Environment, 42(6), 1974-1986. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13529

© 2019 The Authors Plant, Cell & Environment Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Roots naturally exert axial and radial pressures during growth, which alter the structural arrangement of soil at the root–soil interface. However, empirical models s... Read More about The role of plant species and soil condition in the structural development of the rhizosphere.

X-ray microtomography to evaluate the efficacy of paraffin wax coating for soil bulk density evaluation (2018)
Journal Article
Pires, L. F., Mooney, S. J., Auler, A. C., Atkinson, B., & Sturrock, C. J. (2019). X-ray microtomography to evaluate the efficacy of paraffin wax coating for soil bulk density evaluation. Geoderma, 337, 935-944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.11.017

The paraffin-coated method is a well-used approach to measure the soil bulk density (BD). BD is a physical property of great importance for studies of soil quality and health. Therefore, representative measurements of this property are highly valued.... Read More about X-ray microtomography to evaluate the efficacy of paraffin wax coating for soil bulk density evaluation.

Investigating the microstructure of plant leaves in 3D with lab-based X-ray computed tomography (2018)
Journal Article
Mathers, A. W., Hepworth, C., Baillie, A. L., Sloan, J., Jones, H., Lundgren, M., …Sturrock, C. J. (2018). Investigating the microstructure of plant leaves in 3D with lab-based X-ray computed tomography. Plant Methods, 14(1), Article 99. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-018-0367-7

Background Leaf cellular architecture plays an important role in setting limits for carbon assimilation and, thus, photosynthetic performance. However, the low density, fine structure, and sensitivity to desiccation of plant tissue has presented c... Read More about Investigating the microstructure of plant leaves in 3D with lab-based X-ray computed tomography.

Seed priming enhances early growth and improves area of soil exploration by roots (2018)
Journal Article
Blunk, S., De Heer, M. I., Malik, A. H., Fredlund, K., Ekblad, T., Sturrock, C. J., & Mooney, S. J. (2019). Seed priming enhances early growth and improves area of soil exploration by roots. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 158, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2018.11.003

Introduction: Seed priming has been conducted for centuries with growth advantages reported for a variety of different crops. Previous work has suggested priming does not offer a yield advantage despite an increased early growth if grown under ideal... Read More about Seed priming enhances early growth and improves area of soil exploration by roots.

Biochar enhances soil hydraulic function but not soil aggregation in a sandy loam (2018)
Journal Article
Zhou, H., Fang, H., Zhang, Q., Wang, Q., Chen, C., Mooney, S. J., …Du, Z. (2018). Biochar enhances soil hydraulic function but not soil aggregation in a sandy loam. European Journal of Soil Science, 70(2), 291-300. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12732

© 2018 British Society of Soil Science Biochar has the potential to modify soil structure and soil hydraulic properties because of its small particle density, highly porous structure, grain size distribution and surface chemistry. However, knowledge... Read More about Biochar enhances soil hydraulic function but not soil aggregation in a sandy loam.

Effects of cropping systems upon the three-dimensional architecture of soil systems are modulated by texture (2018)
Journal Article
Bacq-Labreuil, A., Crawford, J., Mooney, S. J., Neal, A. L., Akkari, E., McAuliffe, C., …Ritz, K. (2018). Effects of cropping systems upon the three-dimensional architecture of soil systems are modulated by texture. Geoderma, 332, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.07.002

Soil delivers fundamental ecosystem functions via interactions between physical and biological processes mediated by soil structure. The structure of soil is also dynamic and modified by natural factors and management intervention. The aim of this st... Read More about Effects of cropping systems upon the three-dimensional architecture of soil systems are modulated by texture.

Sugar beet root growth under different watering regimes: a minirhizotron study (2018)
Journal Article
Fitters, T. F., Mooney, S. J., & Sparkes, D. L. (2018). Sugar beet root growth under different watering regimes: a minirhizotron study. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 155, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2018.06.023

The yield of sugar beet is often reduced by drought stress and it has previously been shown that water uptake, especially from deeper layers of the soil profile, may be limited by inadequate total root length. Experiments were conducted to assess roo... Read More about Sugar beet root growth under different watering regimes: a minirhizotron study.