Feast or famine: how Australian plants stay productive under low phosphorus. Phosphorus (P) is in low supply in soils around the nation, and limits plant production in the Australian landscape, as wel

Description

Feast or famine: how Australian plants stay productive under low phosphorus. Phosphorus (P) is in low supply in soils around the nation, and limits plant production in the Australian landscape, as well as for many tropical forests worldwide. How scarce P restricts photosynthetic capacity has remained elusive. We will determine how Australian plants achieve high phosphorus-use efficiency despite low P concentrations in leaves and soils. We will synthesise knowledge of how plants maintain productivity with low P availability, and inform global models how to represent P biogeochemistry and photosynthesis to improve C-cycle estimates. The understanding of plant photosynthetic and P-saving mechanisms that emerge should provide benefits through improved ecological models and enhanced management of primary production.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0602 - Ecology. Lead: Prof David Ellsworth