Mira Durr
Sugar Research and Development Corporation Award Winner
Keeping the soil sweet for sugar cane
Acid sulfate soils pose significant problems in sugar cane growing areas.
When drainage or excavation exposes these soils to oxygen, sulfuric acid is generated. This lowers productivity and the resulting acidic run-off is detrimental to downstream environments.
Management of acid sulphate soils is difficult and the best approach is simply to avoid disturbing them. But as acid sulfate soils make up large areas of Australia’s coastal land that is used for sugar cane production, that’s really not an option.
ANU’s Mira Dürr believes that soil microbial communities might hold the key to the management of these delicate soils.
“The microorganism communities, both bacterial and archaeal, in sugar cane soils are really complex— a large number of these organisms have never been studied before” said Mira.
“My earlier research indicates that microorganisms play an important role in nutrient supply and cycling in these soils, however we still don’t know which organisms play the lead role.”
“Greater understanding of the soil microbial ecosystem—including the participants, rates and processes that occur in the carbon and nitrogen cycles—may be the key to better management of acid sulfate soils.
Mira will investigate the carbon and nitrogen cycling microbial communities in acid sulfate soils, including its functional capacity for biological transformations in the nitrogen and carbon cycles.
“Without putting a name to it, the sugarcane industry already uses the services of archaea and bacteria for nutrient supply and cycling,” said Mira.
This study will enable producers to manipulate this naturally occurring and potentially under-utilised microbial resource to improve management strategies and potentially lower the financial and chemical cost of sugar cane farming.