Mycorrhizae fungi - the symbiotic bridge closing the loop on agricultural phosphorus
Supervisors
Phillip Haygarth, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University
Timothy George, Ecological Sciences Department, The James Hutton Institute
Timothy Stephens, Wessex Water (CASE Studentship)
Summary
The rhizosphere is the engine room of the soil-plant system, where chemistry, physics and biology collide. The novel opportunity proposed for this studentship is to seek ways to enhance soil and plant biology to make better use of soil phosphorus, thereby reducing our reliance on new rock phosphate, reducing the mass of phosphorus used, and ultimately transferred to water, where it contributes significant water quality problems. This PhD training is a unique opportunity to work between Lancaster University in northern England, The James Hutton Institute in Scotland and benefiting from a strong and established collaboration with Wessex Water, water company in the South of England, pioneering innovation in agriculture and water systems.
The project aims to determine the role in mycorrhizae in mobilizing phosphorus in the rhizosphere, and specifically will quantify and isolate the role of these fungi in driving
phosphorus cycling. The work will focus on maize and pasture crops, and their associated soils and will use sites from Scotland, Northern England and the South of England. It will test the hypothesis that rhizospheres inoculated with mycorrhizae will utilize more indigenous soil P and recycled P than rhizospheres without mycorrhizal inoculation. Ultimately this will result in the student making recommendations for improved source management, ultimately reducing pressure on the phosphorus transfer continuum and projecting improvements for closing the
loop on agricultural P.