Tia Northfield (Honours Student)
University of Queensland

Project title
An evaluation of the effects of soil matrix and mycorrhizal infection on the expression of copper toxicity.

Biography
Tia is currently undertaking her honours year at the University of Queensland for a Bachelor of Environmental Science, majoring in ecology.

Start date
July 2008

Project details
Nutrient solution culture experiments demonstrate the highly phyto-toxic nature of metals like copper and lead. In solution culture, these metals prevent root hair growth at concentrations where no other impact on plant growth is apparent. Such results are recognised as partly reflecting the experimental conditions under which they are produced, and are questioned because nutrient solution culture eliminates any effects of the soil matrix, or of soil influences on nutrient acquisition. For this reason, confirmation of solution culture results in soil culture is needed. In this project, the response of Rhodes grass and signal grass to copper toxicity in soil will be assessed. The experimental design will explicitly consider the effect of metal toxicity on the supply of phosphorus, and the impact of mycorrhiza on this relationship.