Archive for the 'PIIC news' Category

The National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research, launched today at the University of New England, has already attracted more than $7 million for funded research projects over the next three years.

The Centre, a joint venture between UNE and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to address the challenges that climate change presents to primary industries, was launched by the Minister for Primary Industries, the Hon. Ian Macdonald MLC.

“Scientists at the National Centre will initially focus on reducing greenhouse emissions from agriculture, sequestering carbon in soils, and developing next-generation biofuels,” Mr Macdonald said.

He announced the appointment of Professor Annette Cowie as Director of the new Centre, and said: “The NSW Government and UNE have assembled a formidable research capability that will now be under Professor Cowie’s guidance here in Armidale.”

Mr Macdonald said that farmers, “as custodians of a vast percentage of our land”, were “at the forefront of the greenhouse debate”. “They understand how important it is to care for the environment,” he said.

The Chancellor of UNE, the Hon. Richard Torbay MP, congratulated Professor Cowie and Professor Bob Martin (Director of the Primary Industries Innovation Centre, the UNE-DPI collaborative research centre that is the “parent” of this new Centre) for their work “in bringing this research initiative to life”.

“This research centre combines the resources of the Department of Primary Industries and UNE to enable the development of large-scale collaborative projects that involved DPI, UNE and a range of organisations, industry groups, and rural communities,” Mr Torbay said.

“This is another example of the success UNE has in engaging in partnerships that lead to greater opportunities for the region,” he continued.

The Chancellor praised the “holistic” approach of the centre - an aspect emphasised both by Professor Cowie and by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew. Professor Pettigrew said that the Centre had been developed “in a spirit of collaborative and multi-disciplinary research”, and that UNE, for its part, was able to contribute expertise in a wide range of disciplines - from the physical and agricultural sciences to the social sciences.

Professor Cowie said the Centre would aim at a “whole systems approach” to the task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. She said that approach would draw on the work of researchers in fundamental areas of science from throughout the University and DPI.

THE PHOTOGRAPH is of Professor Annette Cowie and the Minister for Primary Industries, the Hon. Ian Macdonald MLC

PIIC was a platinum sponsor of the 1st Asia Pacific Biochar Conference held at Surfers Paradise from 17th to 20 May. As a sponsor Bob Martin had the opportunity to make a presentation to the conference on the activities of the National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research. Annette Cowie (pictured), Lukas van Zwieten and Steve Kimber (NSW DPI) were on the organising committee for the conference. Annette also gave a keynote presentation on “greenhouse gas mitigation benefits of biochar as a soil amendment”.

NSW DPI contributors to the conference Included Dr Malem McLeod (Tamworth), Dr Bhupinderpal Singh (Pennant Hills), Dr Lukas van Zwieten (Wollongbar), Dr Katrina Sinclair (Wollongbar) and Mr Steve Kimber (Wollongbar). Conference presentations and information about biochar is available at http://www.anzbiochar.org/.

Mary Kovac (pictured), Resource Management Officer with NSW DPI at Dubbo, has commenced an audit of organic bi-product materials in the North West region of NSW. Andrew Scott, her counterpart from Tamworth is also assisting in the work.

The audit which is expected to be completed by August 2009, includes all major sources of organic materials such as crop residues, forestry and sawmill residues, intensive livestock wastes, woody weeds, and municipal wastes.

The project advisory group includes Prof. Bob Martin (PIIC), Brendan George (DPI), Ian Kruger (DPI), Dr Malem McLeod (DPI), Rex Glencross-Grant (UNE), Kate Newlan (Program coordinator, Northern Inland Regional Waste Group) and John Davis (Manager, Northern Inland Regional Waste Group).

Organic materials can be used to produce bioenergy and biofuel as substitutes for traditional fossil fuels and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Co-products of some of energy production processes (eg biochar, which contains high proportion of stable carbon) can potentially be used as offsets for greenhouse gas emissions as well as a soil amendment to improve agricultural production.

Before studying the feasibility of any future bioenergy production plants in the North West, a better understanding of feedstocks is necessary. This audit will provide preliminary information on the volumes, availability, costs and the reliability of supply of each organic feedstock. It will also yield a better understanding of potential sites for bioenergy plants based on transport logistics, access to water and access to the power grid.

Many organic materials are commonly known as ‘wastes’, but most have economic values and existing uses that need to be taken into account. For example, crop residues left in the field reduce soil temperature and increase soil moisture

Soil Scientist at DPI’s Tamworth Agricultural Institute, Dr Graeme Schwenke (above) will lead a research project to investigate options for mitigating nitrous oxide emissions from cropping soils in North-West NSW. The project will receive $400,000 in funding from GRDC. Use of fertiliser N in the agricultural sector accounts for 32% of N2O emissions or 5.2 Mt CO2-e per year. Of the 1 million tonnes of fertiliser N used annually in this sector, approximately 70% is applied to cereals. Graeme’s project proposes to mitigate emissions in cereal production systems of the North-West slopes and plains, through (i) partial substitution of fertiliser N inputs with biologically-fixed legume N, (ii) increasing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) through strategic location of crop rows in relation to N fertiliser and prior crop residues using precision guidance technology, and (iii) modelling and development of effective extension packages for farmers. We also aim to develop real-world multiplier factors to replace IPCC default values used in calculating GHG emissions from fertiliser and legume use.

The experimental strategies will result in reduced inputs of fertiliser N, with direct consequences for both on-farm and off-farm emissions, as well as economic benefits for farmers through reduced input costs and more efficient production systems. The cost of fertiliser N to farmers more than doubled in 2008. Graeme aims to model project outcomes and develop effective management tools that farmers can use at the paddock level to mitigate their emissions whilst maintaining farm productivity.

Nazma Begum (above), husband Md Khaled Nasimul Bari and son Ahnaf Intesar Bari arrived at UNE in March. Nazma’s project title is “Impact of pulse legumes on nitrous oxide emissions and cereal row placement on N recovery”. Her supervisors are Dr Chris Guppy, Agronomy and Soil Science UNE and Dr Graeme Schwenke, NSW DPI Tamworth Agricultural Institute.

Nazma holds a Master of Science degree in Nematology from the University of Gent, Belgium. The title of her thesis was “Activation of transcription during hatching of Globodera rostochiensis and Globodera pallida after exposure to potato root diffusates from plants of different ages”. Nazma also has a Master of Science degree in International Horticulture from the University of Hanover. The title of her thesis was: “Genotypic differences in nitrogen use efficiency in maize (Zea mays) in relation to leaf senescence”.

Nazma is located in the Agronomy and Soil Science Building and can be contacted by phone on 6773 3963 and email on nbegum2@une.edu.au.

Kenyan forestry researcher, Christine Kainyu arrived at UNE with husband Martin and their young daughter Michelle in early March 2009.  She will join the PIIC Soil Carbon Research Group.  Christine’s research program is supported by a Ford Foundation international fellowship. Her PhD studies will involve modelling the impact of on-farm management practices and land-use changes, on Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) sequestration.  She intends to make use reflectance technology, remote sensing and GIS software in her studies.

Christine has been a Research Scientist (Soils) at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute since 2004.  She has also carried out private consultancies to farm forestry projects, large scale private farms and for biofuel production on mining reserve land in rehabilitated quarries and on-farm soil diagnostic studies.

In addition to her extensive experience in forestry, Christine has worked with cropping systems, the subject of her Mphil thesis was ‘The influence of ‘MBILI’ and conventional (maize-legume) intercropping systems on nutrient uptake, yield and rooting characteristics of intercrops in Western Kenya’.  Her BSc dissertation was on ‘Responses of Crotolaria grahamiana, Tephrosia vogelii and beans to direct application of Minjingu Rock Phosphate for improved and sustained production in Western Kenya’.

No time was wasted in Christine’s introduction to on-farm soil carbon management. Within a week of her arrival at UNE, she travelled to Coonamble with Heiko Daniel and Bob Martin to a farmer field day on Ray and Anne William’s property ‘Magomadine’.  Anne, also a PIIC post graduate student, is studying ‘Biological indicators and potential amendments to improve soil health, crop productivity and profitability for cropping soils in central western NSW’.

Christine’s PhD supervisors will be Professor Heiko Daniel and Dr. Peter Lockwood from UNE,  and Dr. Brian Wilson from DECC.  She is located in the Agronomy and Soil Science Building and can be contacted by phone on 6773 3963 and email on cwalela@une.edu.au.

A project aimed at reducing poverty in north-western Cambodia by enhancing the production and marketing of maize and soybean is to receive $1.17 million of funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) between 2008 and 2011.

Professor Bob Martin, Director of the Primary Industries Innovation Centre (PIIC) based at the University of New England, is the leader of the project.

The Australia-based collaborators in the project are the PIIC (a joint venture between UNE and the NSW Department of Primary Industries), The University of Canberra and CSIRO. Collaborators in Cambodia are the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, the Maddox Jolie Pitt foundation, CARE International, and the Provincial Departments of Agriculture in Battambang and Pailin.

The aim of the project is to improve the functioning of the production-marketing system for maize and soybean in north-western Cambodia as a key to increasing cash income, sustainable growth, and poverty reduction for smallholder farmers, Professor Martin said. The project will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information at all stages of the value chain from farmer to end-user. This will deliver practical benefits for poor rural farmers, including improved food security, increased income, and reduced vulnerability to disruptions.

He explained that the production of upland crops such as maize and soybean had rapidly expanded in north-western Cambodia since re-integration of the former Khmer Rouge began in 1996. However, crop yields are declining and soils are being degraded by excessive cultivation and burning, he said. The development has been largely driven by market demand in Thailand. Local farmers are disadvantaged by lack of market information, inadequate post-harvest technology, and poor transport infrastructure.

The project team expects its work to have a significant impact in Cambodia within five years. This will include an increase in crop yields and profits through improved technologies. For example, rhizobium inoculation of soybean can give a 600 per cent return on investment, Professor Martin said. Marketing costs could be reduced by 10 per cent, which is worth an estimated US$3.3 million per annum in the Cambodian districts of Battambang and Pailin.

Other benefits will include enhanced networks and learning between farmers and others in the value chain from production through to the market, and the adoption of no-tillage conservation farming practices and fertiliser application that will reduce soil erosion and slow down the decline in soil fertility.

The Australian collaborators in the Cambodia project are also involved in a related project, with ACIAR funding of $250,000 between 2008 and 2011, aimed at boosting the adoption of conservation farming practices in north-western NSW.

A PHOTOGRAPH of Professor Bob Martin working with members of the project team in Cambodia can be seen by clicking on the image of Cambodian farmers displayed here. Professor Martin’s colleagues are Pheng Kea (centre) from the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, and Department of Agriculture agronomist Nou Nakry.

Shane McIntosh and Dr Tony Vancov (pictured) discuss the potential of sorghum residues for ligno-cellolosic biofuel production at the Wollongbar Agricultural Institute.

First generation biofuels such as ethanol and bio-diesel are derived from agricultural crops and therefore compete with food and fibre production for water and/or fertile land. The ability of first generation biofuels to satisfy Australia’s principles of ecologically sustainable development is also the subject of increasing public debate.

Second generation biofuels include those which use ligno-cellulosic biomass to produce ethanol. However, these technologies are not yet commercially available. The development of second generation biofuels has the potential to replace the first generation biofuels and more effectively reduce Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.

Second generation biofuel technologies have the potential to supplement fuel supplies in a sustainable manner by deriving biofuel from low cost, non-food materials or “waste” materials such as crop residues, forestry residues, algae, or tropical grasses. They may also be more readily adapted to land unsuitable for traditional food crops. Producing fuels from these materials also has the potential to significantly improve the cost effectiveness of biofuels.

Developing a sustainable, greenhouse-friendly biofuels industry based on sound science and located in regional NSW is the focus of a new research project being undertaken by the Primary Industries Innovation Centre (PIIC). PIIC is spending $740,000 over two years to investigate the technical issues behind setting up a biofuels industry using novel feedstocks.

Primary objectives of the research are to:

• Identify sources of biofuels, particularly those which derive from native plants,
• Evaluate and develop pre-treatment strategies, particularly for feedstock native to Australia,
• Assess and improve existing microorganisms to overcome problems associated with ethanol production from lignocellulosic hydrolysates,
• Determine the key natural resource management issues relevant to providing selected feedstocks, and
• Provide the science needed to produce optimal outcomes for individual enterprises and regions.

Dr Tony Vancov and Mr Shane McIntosh at the Wollongbar Agricultural Institute are assessing likely lignocellulose feedstock candidates. They have established a pre-treatment laboratory and lab-scale procedures have been developed. Three commercial cellulase enzyme preparations have been evaluated and preferred preparations have been selected for future work; Tony and Shane are well advanced with pre-treatment assessment of bagasse feedstock and have commenced assessment of forage and grain sorghum residues. The sorghum residues have created some excitement with unexpectedly high levels of sugars.

Tony is also exploring opportunities for collaboration with Ethtec which is the first commercial venture in Australia of next generation biofuel production. Ethtec has established a pilot ligno-cellulosic plant at the Harwood sugar mill near Grafton.

The project is funded by a $440,000 grant from the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and $300,000 in-kind support from NSW DPI and UNE.

Contact: Dr Tony Vancov (02 66) tony.vancov@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Gillian was awarded the PIIC honours scholarship for 2008 to assess the potential of chicken manure biochar for soil amelioration. Gillian’s project combines some local tillage research history with the latest developments in soil improvement.

Gillian’s parents, Bede and Narelle, own and lease 1,214 hectares of land, including their home property “Glendon”, which is 20 kilometres west of Tamworth. Their holding is made up of displaced blocks within a 12 kilometre radius of their home. The Burkes are involved in egg production, pullet rearing, cropping and feed milling as well as sheep and cattle grazing. They have about 520 hectares of red soils suitable only for winter cropping and 590 hectares of darker soils which are used for summer and winter cropping. During the 1980s, NSW Agriculture conducted a long-term tillage experiment on one of Bede’s red soils. It took a long time for this soil to show any response to no-tillage because of its hard-setting nature, low organic matter and high bulk density. Bede spreads chicken manure from their layer and pullet sheds and is able to cover 150 hectares per year and it takes five or six years to manure all of the cropping country. The chicken manure has made a big improvement in soil fertility. Gillian’s project will investigate whether there are any advantages in converting the chicken manure to biochar. Biochar is a highly biologically resistant form of carbon resulting from carbonisation or pyrolysis of plant or animal material in the absence of air at a temperature above 300°C. This process also produces biofuels that can substitute for fossil fuels. Bio-char can provide long term storage of a significant proportion (25-40%) of biomass carbon that would otherwise cycle back to the atmosphere over time scales of decades. It has also been recognised that introducing bio-char into agricultural systems could provide a range of other environmental benefits. Biochars applied to the soil can provide soil carbon pools which are stable, quantifiable and accountable with respect to carbon trading. The properties of bio-chars vary with the type of organic material from which they are made (eg wood, green waste, manures, factory wastes) and production conditions (eg temperature, degree of activation). Research to date has found that biochars can improve the productivity of crops in low fertility soils through four main mechanisms, they can:

• modify soil pH, mainly using alkaline bio-chars in acidic soils, and hence affect the plant availability of nutrients and toxic elements such as aluminium
• enhance the formation of symbiotic relationships between plant roots and mycorrhiza and rhizobia. This can increase access of plants to unavailable pools of soil phosphorous and nitrogen and decrease use of fertilisers
• increase the retention of ionic forms of nutrients, particularly in soils with low cation exchange capacity. Bio-chars have the potential to increase the efficiency of uptake of nutrients released from organic amendments and inorganic fertilisers.
• increase water holding capacity of sandy or poorly structured soils and hence efficiency of use of rainfall/irrigation. Gillian will conduct a glasshouse experiment using red-brown earth (chromosol) soli collected from the family property. Data to be collected will include: physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and biochar; changes in soil physical and hydrological properties; changes in soil biological activity and effect on plant biomass.

The NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, visited the University of New England yesterday to launch a new phase in the life of the Primary Industries Innovation Centre (PIIC), a collaborative venture between his Department and the University.

Mr Macdonald announced the appointment of Professor Bob Martin (pictured here) as the first full-time Director of PIIC, and the establishment of an Office for Rural Greenhouse Gas Studies within the UNE-based Centre.

Speaking during yesterday’s event, The Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Alan Pettigrew, and the Director-General of the Department of Primary Industries, Dr Richard Sheldrake, both emphasised and celebrated the truly collaborative nature of PIIC.

Dr Sheldrake predicted that the newly-announced Office would be “the powerhouse for greenhouse gas studies throughout Australia”, adding that “our partnership with an organisation like UNE makes this possible”. Professor Pettigrew highlighted the capacity of PIIC to call on the expertise of people from a wide range of disciplines. “It’s a great testament to the idea of collaborative research into real-world problems,” he said.

The event was chaired by the Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly and Member for Northern Tablelands, Richard Torbay. Mr Torbay said the initiatives being announced came at a time when there was “a constructive debate occurring in rural areas” about agricultural practice in the face of climate change. “The opportunities are there,” he said.

In announcing the appointment of a Director for PIIC, Mr Macdonald said Professor Martin, who is also the Director of DPI’s Tamworth Agricultural Institute, was “widely acknowledged as an expert in farming systems research, with more than 35 years’ experience building project teams in Australia and overseas”.

“This stronger link between UNE and DPI will allow leading scientists from the two organisations to work together to develop robust solutions to major problems facing primary industries in north-west NSW,” the Minister said. (Professor Martin, speaking after the event, pointed out that DPI brought to the Centre “a very strong applied research background and a widespread network of extension staff”, while UNE brought its strengths in pure research and teaching.)

While launching the Office for Rural Greenhouse Gas Studies, Mr Macdonald released a discussion paper titled “Climate change research priorities for NSW primary industries”. “The discussion paper is designed to provide advice on research priorities to help primary producers reduce future carbon emissions as well as adapt to any climate variation in which they may have to operate,” he said.

The Minister’s speech marked the opening of a two-day PIIC Symposium at UNE’s Drummond and Smith College featuring reports on recently-completed, current, and proposed projects. Attending the symposium are about 50 researchers from DPI and UNE as well as the Chief Executive Officers of the UNE-based Cooperative Research Centres for the sheep, beef and poultry industries and the Director of the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit. This is the first annual symposium for PIIC, which was launched two years ago. The position of PIIC Director is jointly funded by DPI and UNE, and the Centre has external funding for current projects of more than $3.5 million.