The University of Western Australia researchers recently hosted a glasshouse tour of their latest waste-to-resource experiment aimed at building stable soil carbon.
Key members of WaterCorp, Tessele Consultants, Water Research Australia, and Land Use Futures joined the tour, which was led by UWA PhD candidate and Tim Healey Memorial scholar George Mercer.
Guided by the theme ‘Enhancing product applications’, the industry-supported project is led by Professor Megan Ryan as part of the ARC Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource.
Image: WaterCorp Technical Advisor Rachael Major, Tessele Consultants’ Kendall Ferraro, Water Research Australia Research Manager Sandra Henville, George Mercer, Professor Megan Ryan, Land Use Futures Principal Ian Kininmonth, and Andreas Pfeifle.
Mr Mercer said the aim of the research was to refine the delivery of value-added soil amendments from the wastewater treatment process (such as composted biosolids and biochar) and return much-needed carbon and nutrients to agricultural ecosystems.
“The trick is to optimise the delivery of these products to benefit soil function,” he said.
“The stability of soil carbon is highly dependent on activities of soil microbes, so characterising their response to these amendments will help us to understand the best parameters for building persistent soil carbon in these systems.”
Mr Mercer said it was often overlooked that the ‘hidden cost’ of building soil carbon was the surrender of nutrients to long-term pools of soil organic matter.
“The availability of organic matter will impact the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the system, which will also have an effect on plant yield,” he said.
Mr Mercer, who is also the WA Branch President of Soil Science Australia (SSA), emphasised the reciprocity that exists between soil and water research.
“Connecting people from the soil and water industries will ultimately lead to better management of both of these precious resources,” he said.
On 5 December, SSA WA Branch held a symposium for World Soil Day under the theme ‘Soil and Water: A source of life’.