A research agreement signifying a valuable collaboration between The University of Queensland and a Japanese power company to test a new fertiliser for forestation was endorsed earlier this month.
Representatives from the Japanese Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO) and UQ commercialisation company UniQuest signed the agreement on October 1 on the FIELD ReALCA project, which was facilitated by UniQuest’s Consulting and Research division.
The project will test a coal fly ash-derived fertiliser on two types of soil to find optimum rates of application to reduce soil acidity. By improving the quality of soil, researchers hope the fertiliser can rehabilitate degraded land and enhance forestation.
The fly ash is a by-product of coal burning from coal-fired power plants. HEPCO will provide the fertiliser to be assessed by UQ researchers.
The UQ Executive Dean of the Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Professor Roger Swift, will be working on the project with Senior Research Fellow Dr Kaye Spark from the University's Gatton campus.
“Previously the fly ash-derived fertiliser was used in glasshouse trials by UQ for HEPCO to assess its soil conditioning and fertilising qualities,” Professor Swift said.
“Those trials have indicated that in addition to acting as an effective liming agent, the fertiliser contains a number of essential plant nutrients which are deficient in acidic soils.
“The project plans to increase the scale of the assessment and to further investigate how well the fertiliser reduces soil acidity in a field using two different types of soil, and how well the fertiliser can enhance the growth of selected trees. This will help to increase the potential for carbon sequestration through the growth.”
Managing Director of UniQuest David Henderson said the agreement has strengthened UQ's reputation in the international arena for bringing industry and research organisations together for a global benefit.
“The FIELD ReALCA project is a positive step towards finding solutions for a by-product recycling objective generated by the electricity industry as well as the challenges of land rehabilitation that are facing agriculturalists all around the world,” Mr Henderson said.
The two field sites, located near Bundaberg, Queensland, are ferrosol and podzolic type soil sites, typical of acid lands in south east Queensland.
For more information, contact UQ's Prof. Roger Swift on 07 5460 1336 or UniQuest's Gary Heyden on 07 3365 4037.
