Agriculture and ecosystems
Event Details
- Date:
- Wednesday, 04 May 2022
- Time:
- 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
- Room:
- Zoom Online
- URL:
- https://www.tern.org.au/events/2022-ecosystem-webinars/
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Ms Mary-Anne Fiebig
- Phone:
- 0488 229 130
- Email:
- m.fiebig@uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Event Description
- Full Description:
- The issue
All ecosystems are interconnected and impact on each other. So, what is the impact of agricultural land use (agroecosystem) on 'natural ecosystems?
Agroecosystems both provide and rely on ecosystem services. Services that help to support production of harvestable goods include soil structure and fertility enhancement, nutrient cycling, water provision, erosion control, pollination, and pest control, among others. Ecological processes that detract from agricultural production include pest damage, competition for water, and competition for pollination. Both ecosystem services and those that detract from ecosystems are typically a result of management practices within agricultural fields and landscapes.
Our speakers focus on monitoring and management practices to maintain both sustainability and the benefits agricultural land use provides to the environment.
Speakers
Dr Ben Macdonald co-leads TERN’s Landscapes platform and is Group Leader for the Soils and Landscapes Program, CSIRO Agriculture and Food. Ben’s research aims to improve resilience and sustainability of Australian and regional agroecosystems with a focus on the quantification of gaseous exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere and the key processes responsible for emissions from agricultural and natural ecosystems.
Dr Anna Hopkins is a Senior Lecturer in molecular ecology in the School of Science at Edith Cowan University. Anna’s research interests include soil microbes, plant-fungal-fauna interactions and fungal plant pathogens in native ecosystems, plantation forests and agriculture in both Australasia and Scandinavia. Recent research interests include understanding the impact of disturbances (such as drought, fire and urbanisation) on soil ecology and ecosystem health.
Professor Peter Grace at the Queensland University of Technology has been involved with TERN since its commencement. Among his many current studies, Peter works with industry, looking at the carbon balance of grasslands. He has been active in both the developed and developing world promoting the use of simple soil assays and educating land holders in soil management for maximising long-term productivity and profitability.
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