HDR Scholarship - Impact of textile waste on plant biology

Soil ecosystems are crucial for sustaining agricultural industries upon which food security and financial stability depend. The interactions between biological communities and physio-chemical variables contribute to the overall quality of the soil. Textile waste ending up in landfills has adverse effects on soil quality by causing changes to both biotic (soil organic matter and organisms) and abiotic variables (soil nutrients, metal pollutants, and soil structure). In Australia, 23 Kg out of the consumed 27 Kg of textile person ends in landfills. Innately, the material, finishing, and dyes that constitute these textile waste impacts the cycling of essential nutrients and plant growth and can act as or protect other organisms from pathogens. Hence, there is a potential to return this textile waste to fields to offer benefits to soil health that could be a scalable solution to this massive landfill problem.

Plants are complex biological systems whose functional drive (flux, nutrient transport) is often quantified by the appearance of a structure (leaf, flower). Morphological transformations in a plant indicate signalling, defence, and growth mechanism, which is highly influenced by soil characteristics and climate. Microorganism activity, nutrient solubility, and availability are some of the critical processes that inherently depend on soil characteristics. For instance, reactive oxygen species (ROS) present in the soil play a vital role in cellular homeostasis, which controls plant metabolism, growth and development, adaptation, and suicide events. Another critical variable is the pH of the soil; in acidic soil, most micronutrients are more available to plants than in neutral alkaline soil, which generally favours plant growth. Conversely, lower availability of micronutrients will adversely affect plant growth. Therefore, this project aims to address the need for a systematic investigation of the impacts of textile landfill on soil characteristics concerning plant growth.

Applications will remain open until a candidate has been appointed

This scholarship is available over 3 years.

• Stipend of $33,500 per annum tax exempt (2023 rate)
• Relocation allowance of $500-1500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
• International students only:  Tuition fees offset for the duration of 4 years. Single Overseas Student Health Cover policy for the duration of the student visa.

To be eligible you must:

• be either a domestic or international candidate. Domestic includes candidates with Australian Citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency or New Zealand Citizenship.
• meet Deakin's PhD entry requirements
• be enrolling full time and hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master's degree with a substantial research component.

Please refer to the research degree entry pathways page for further information.

Additional desirable criteria include:

• experience in soil science or plant science with chemistry background.