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– When: Monday 26 June 12pm AEST, online via Zoom – Register now –
Beneath our feet lies the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth: the soil. The soil supports the majority of life on the planet and with advances in technology, it may no longer be the ‘black box’ it once was. But below ground ecosystems are complex and our understanding of underground ecology is still in its infancy. Soil processes underpin all terrestrial ecosystems, thus if we are to conserve ecosystem function and biodiversity while sustainably managing landscapes, we need to advance our knowledge of the underground. From microbial ecology to biogeochemistry, agroecology to restoration, many facets of plant-soil ecology research remain siloed. To meaningfully advance fundamental ecology and applied outcomes there is a need for greater interdisciplinary cross-talk and collaboration.
Join Professor Jeff Powell, Dr Anna Hopkins, Dr Christina Birnbaum and Giancarlo Chiarenza in our upcoming online forum as they discuss this fascinating field of ecology.
Participants are encouraged to submit questions to before the webinar for panellists to discuss and answer during the session.
Panellists include:
Dr Christina Birnbaum (University of Southern Queensland) – Christina is an ecologist interested in plant ecology and plant-microbe-soil interactions. She uses field observations, combined with experimental manipulations and molecular tools to explore questions pertaining plant-microbe interactions in diverse ecosystems, including shrublands, saltmarshes, mangroves and peatlands, to inform invasive species management, restoration ecology and plant-microbial dynamics. Christina is the lead convener of ESA Plant-Soil Ecology Research Chapter.
Giancarlo Chiarenza (PhD candidate at UNSW) – Giancarlo is a PhD candidate in the Big Ecology Lab. His research involves studying the relationship between plants and soil at a global scale by assessing the relationships between delayed greening (delay in the deployment of chlorophyll in young leaves until they are mature) and abiotic factors, e.g., soil fertility and light, evaluating the most important soil properties to predict plant characteristics in different regions of the world and measuring the effects of soil features on the rapid evolution of plant species. Giancarlo sits on the ESA Plant-Soil Ecology Research Chapter next-generation committee.