Xipeng Ren

Pasture dieback (PDB) is developing as a natural disaster in Australia. There are two aims of this project. Firstly, restoring healthy bacterial and fungal communities in the grass and the soil. Secondly, identifying PDB-resistant plants that can restore soil health and support grass in co-culture. The proposed project will provide a massive amount of valuable and comprehensive information on PDB and give direction for future large-scale performance interventions.

This program will benefit the region in multiple ways, by providing new knowledge and a better understanding of pasture dieback and educating local experts in soil health and recovery. The benefit for participating farmers is getting to know their farm soil and gaining a better understanding of the importance of soil microbiota and how to maintain and control beneficial species on the farm. This project will build the most significant, long-overdue, repository of PDB knowledge. The project will build on the previous FBA-funded project, actively using the preliminary data, trust and connections already established with the farmers.

Fitzroy Basin Association