Friends to the rescue: using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to future-proof Australian agriculture. Heuck, M. K., Birnbaum, C., & Frew, A. Microbiology Australia, 44(1):5–8, March, 2023.
Friends to the rescue: using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to future-proof Australian agriculture [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
With a rising global population and the challenges of climate change, there is an increasing need to find solutions to maintain crop yields in an ecologically sustainable way. Although many studies have focussed on this issue, comparatively few are conducted in the southern hemisphere. This is worrisome because the geographical and geomorphological conditions within Australia differ greatly from the northern hemisphere. To ensure food security, approaches can rely on conventional agricultural methods as well as commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal inoculants. Both approaches lack the capacity to be successful in the long term or could have unknown negative effects on the naturally occurring microbial communities. We advocate for a sustainable and holistic approach that combines the effective management of functionally diverse AM fungal communities with precision farming techniques while integrating landscape elements into agricultural fields. In addition, landowners and scientists should collaborate and communicate their work with industry and government to take forward the shift to a more-sustainable agriculture. In this way, we will be better able to secure our food production while restoring our soil ecosystems.
@article{heuck_friends_2023,
	title = {Friends to the rescue: using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to future-proof {Australian} agriculture},
	volume = {44},
	issn = {1324-4272},
	shorttitle = {Friends to the rescue},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1071/MA23002},
	doi = {10.1071/MA23002},
	abstract = {With a rising global population and the challenges of climate change, there is an increasing need to find solutions to maintain crop yields in an ecologically sustainable way. Although many studies have focussed on this issue, comparatively few are conducted in the southern hemisphere. This is worrisome because the geographical and geomorphological conditions within Australia differ greatly from the northern hemisphere. To ensure food security, approaches can rely on conventional agricultural methods as well as commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal inoculants. Both approaches lack the capacity to be successful in the long term or could have unknown negative effects on the naturally occurring microbial communities. We advocate for a sustainable and holistic approach that combines the effective management of functionally diverse AM fungal communities with precision farming techniques while integrating landscape elements into agricultural fields. In addition, landowners and scientists should collaborate and communicate their work with industry and government to take forward the shift to a more-sustainable agriculture. In this way, we will be better able to secure our food production while restoring our soil ecosystems.},
	number = {1},
	urldate = {2026-03-17},
	journal = {Microbiology Australia},
	author = {Heuck, Meike Katharina and Birnbaum, Christina and Frew, Adam},
	month = mar,
	year = {2023},
	pages = {5--8},
}

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