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Herbal leys have no effect on soil porosity, earthworm abundance, and microbial community composition compared to a grass-clover ley in a sheep grazed grassland after 2-years (2024)
Journal Article
Cooledge, E. C., Sturrock, C. J., Atkinson, B. S., Mooney, S. J., Brailsford, F. L., Murphy, D. V., …Jones, D. L. (2024). Herbal leys have no effect on soil porosity, earthworm abundance, and microbial community composition compared to a grass-clover ley in a sheep grazed grassland after 2-years. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 365, Article 108928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2024.108928

Herbal leys (multispecies swards) can potentially deliver greater agronomic and environmental benefits than conventional grass-clover swards in grazed agroecosystems. However, despite their popularity in agri-environment schemes, little is known abou... Read More about Herbal leys have no effect on soil porosity, earthworm abundance, and microbial community composition compared to a grass-clover ley in a sheep grazed grassland after 2-years.

Soil structure has a greater effect on the rooting of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) than nitrogen fertilisation rate or genotype (2023)
Journal Article
Mawodza, T., Zhou, H., Atkinson, B. S., Atkinson, J. A., Sturrock, C. J., Riche, A. B., …Mooney, S. J. (2023). Soil structure has a greater effect on the rooting of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) than nitrogen fertilisation rate or genotype. Rhizosphere, 27, Article 100770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2023.100770

Despite extensive research over the last century concerning the application of nitrogen fertilizer to support the production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), our understanding on how this impacts on root growth in subsoils is limited. In this study,... Read More about Soil structure has a greater effect on the rooting of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) than nitrogen fertilisation rate or genotype.

Life at the extreme: Plant-driven hotspots of soil nutrient cycling in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert (2023)
Journal Article
Jones, D. L., Fuentes, B., Arenas-Díaz, F., Remonsellez, F., van Hall, R., Atkinson, B. S., …Bol, R. (2023). Life at the extreme: Plant-driven hotspots of soil nutrient cycling in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 184, Article 109128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109128

The hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert represents one of the most intense environments on Earth, often being used as an analog for Mars regolith. The area is characterized by extremes in climate (e.g., temperature, humidity, UV irradiation) and eda... Read More about Life at the extreme: Plant-driven hotspots of soil nutrient cycling in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert.

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.

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.

Determination of wheat spike and spikelet architecture and grain traits using X-ray Computed Tomography imaging (2021)
Journal Article
Hu, Z., Riche, A. B., Hawkesford, M. J., Whalley, W. R., Atkinson, B. S., Sturrock, C. J., & Mooney, S. J. (2021). Determination of wheat spike and spikelet architecture and grain traits using X-ray Computed Tomography imaging. Plant Methods, 17(1), Article 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-021-00726-5

© 2021, The Author(s). Background: Wheat spike architecture is a key determinant of multiple grain yield components and detailed examination of spike morphometric traits is beneficial to explain wheat grain yield and the effects of differing agronomy... Read More about Determination of wheat spike and spikelet architecture and grain traits using X-ray Computed Tomography imaging.

Preparation, Scanning and Analysis of Duckweed Using X-Ray Computed Microtomography (2021)
Journal Article
Jones, D. H., Atkinson, B., Ware, A., Sturrock, C. J., Bishopp, A., & Wells, D. M. (2021). Preparation, Scanning and Analysis of Duckweed Using X-Ray Computed Microtomography. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, Article 617830. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.617830

© Copyright © 2021 Jones, Atkinson, Ware, Sturrock, Bishopp and Wells. Quantification of anatomical and compositional features underpins both fundamental and applied studies of plant structure and function. Relatively few non-invasive techniques are... Read More about Preparation, Scanning and Analysis of Duckweed Using X-Ray Computed Microtomography.

Emergent Protective Organogenesis in Date Palms: A Morpho-devo-dynamic Adaptive Strategy During Early Development (2019)
Journal Article
Xiao, T., Raygoza, A. A., Pérez, J. C., Kirschner, G., Deng, Y., Atkinson, B., …Blilou, I. (2019). Emergent Protective Organogenesis in Date Palms: A Morpho-devo-dynamic Adaptive Strategy During Early Development. Plant Cell, 31(8), 1751-1766. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00008

Desert plants have developed mechanisms for adapting to hostile desert conditions, yet these mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we describe two unique modes used by desert date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) to protect their meristematic tiss... Read More about Emergent Protective Organogenesis in Date Palms: A Morpho-devo-dynamic Adaptive Strategy During Early Development.

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.

Methane transport in agricultural soil after injection of isotopically-enriched methane in the sub-surface (2018)
Journal Article
Shaw, G., Atkinson, B., Meredith, W., Snape, C., Lever, D., & Hoch, A. (2018). Methane transport in agricultural soil after injection of isotopically-enriched methane in the sub-surface. Scientific Data, 5, 180208. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.208

Small quantities of radioactive methane (14CH4) may be released over prolonged periods from geological disposal facilities for radioactive waste. The impact of this release depends on the capacity of soil to oxidise 14CH4 to 14CO2 during transport fr... Read More about Methane transport in agricultural soil after injection of isotopically-enriched methane in the sub-surface.

Methane transport through an agricultural soil following pulse injection of isotopically-enriched methane in the sub-surface (2018)
Dataset
SHAW, G., Atkinson, B., Meredith, W., Snape, C., Lever, D., & Hoch, A. (2018). Methane transport through an agricultural soil following pulse injection of isotopically-enriched methane in the sub-surface. [Dataset]

Data comprise methane and carbon dioxide concentrations in soil following injection of discrete pulses of methane into subsoil (50 cm depth) below a spring wheat crop during the growing season. Supporting data on soil moisture, soil temperature and... Read More about Methane transport through an agricultural soil following pulse injection of isotopically-enriched methane in the sub-surface.

Roots-eye view: using microdialysis and microCT to non-destructively map root nutrient depletion and accumulation zones (2017)
Journal Article
Brackin, R., Atkinson, B. S., Sturrock, C. J., & Rasmussen, A. (2017). Roots-eye view: using microdialysis and microCT to non-destructively map root nutrient depletion and accumulation zones. Plant, Cell and Environment, 40(12), https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13072

Improvement in fertiliser use efficiency is a key aspect for achieving sustainable agriculture in order to minimise costs, greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from nutrient runoff. To optimise root architecture for nutrient uptake and efficiency w... Read More about Roots-eye view: using microdialysis and microCT to non-destructively map root nutrient depletion and accumulation zones.

Shaping 3D root system architecture (2017)
Journal Article
Morris, E. C., Griffiths, M., Golebiowska, A., Mairhofer, S., Burr-Hersey, J., Goh, T., …Bennett, M. J. (2017). Shaping 3D root system architecture. Current Biology, 27(17), R919-R930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.043

Plants are sessile organisms rooted in one place. The soil resources that plants require are often distributed in a highly heterogeneous pattern. To aid foraging, plants have evolved roots whose growth and development are highly responsive to soil si... Read More about Shaping 3D root system architecture.

Root morphology and biomechanical characteristics of high altitude alpine plant species and their potential application in soil stabilization (2017)
Journal Article
Hudek, C., Sturrock, C., Atkinson, B., Stanchi, S., & Freppaz, M. (2017). Root morphology and biomechanical characteristics of high altitude alpine plant species and their potential application in soil stabilization. Ecological Engineering, 109(Part B), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.05.048

Glacial forefields host young, poorly developed soils with highly unstable environmental conditions. Root system contribution to soil stabilization is a well-known phenomenon. Identifying the functional traits and root morphology of pioneer vegetatio... Read More about Root morphology and biomechanical characteristics of high altitude alpine plant species and their potential application in soil stabilization.