Assessing absolute sustainability of global cities. The project aims to create a quantitative modelling framework for assessing the absolute sustainability of cities by combining global multi-region input-output analysis with the 'safe and just space' concept for human development. The model will allow assessment of the full supply chain environmental and social impacts of urban economic activities against biophysical planetary limits as well as social foundation thresholds defined in the litera ....Assessing absolute sustainability of global cities. The project aims to create a quantitative modelling framework for assessing the absolute sustainability of cities by combining global multi-region input-output analysis with the 'safe and just space' concept for human development. The model will allow assessment of the full supply chain environmental and social impacts of urban economic activities against biophysical planetary limits as well as social foundation thresholds defined in the literature. The project will advance sustainability science methodology and will greatly benefit worldwide initiatives for urban sustainability. Case studies on Australian cities will assess where interventions can be most practically, realistically and effectively implemented.Read moreRead less
Transforming Cultural & Natural Resource Management workforce capabilities. This project aims to implement a transformative program of transdisciplinary cultural and natural resource management and workforce development research in Northern Australia’s Arnhem Plateau region. This project expects to create new knowledge in the areas of cultural knowledges, wildfire, feral animal, invasive plants, mine-site rehabilitation, and climate change, as well as Indigenous training effectiveness. Expected ....Transforming Cultural & Natural Resource Management workforce capabilities. This project aims to implement a transformative program of transdisciplinary cultural and natural resource management and workforce development research in Northern Australia’s Arnhem Plateau region. This project expects to create new knowledge in the areas of cultural knowledges, wildfire, feral animal, invasive plants, mine-site rehabilitation, and climate change, as well as Indigenous training effectiveness. Expected outcomes of the project include practical learnings for application in broader Indigenous community/First Nations capability and supportive policy development contexts. The expected benefits are a long-term platform for enhancing cultural and environmental landscape management and sustainable employment opportunities.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC210100034
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,986,473.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Healing Country. Healing Country aims to be a world-first on-country capability, employment and business development training centre for Indigenous Australians. The centre aims to achieve cost-effective restoration solutions that grow and strengthen Indigenous enterprises, expand and bolster diverse training pathways, and conduct innovative research to support the advancement of a diversified Indigenous-led Restoration Economy. Healing Country will fuse Indigenous culture ....ARC Training Centre for Healing Country. Healing Country aims to be a world-first on-country capability, employment and business development training centre for Indigenous Australians. The centre aims to achieve cost-effective restoration solutions that grow and strengthen Indigenous enterprises, expand and bolster diverse training pathways, and conduct innovative research to support the advancement of a diversified Indigenous-led Restoration Economy. Healing Country will fuse Indigenous culture in a cooperative vision where science and traditional approaches to land management and rehabilitation will create and nourish an economy that supports healthy land and transform Indigenous restoration businesses into a major employer of on-country regional jobs.Read moreRead less
Innovative tools needed for market-based nutrient offsetting . This project will apply innovative approaches to develop a functional equivalency of nutrients from catchment versus point sources. This is fundamental knowledge needed for the successful application of nutrient offsetting. This market-based mechanism involves point source polluters choosing to pay for catchment restoration, which is offset against their nutrient discharge. Currently, despite its potential, there is a lack of confide ....Innovative tools needed for market-based nutrient offsetting . This project will apply innovative approaches to develop a functional equivalency of nutrients from catchment versus point sources. This is fundamental knowledge needed for the successful application of nutrient offsetting. This market-based mechanism involves point source polluters choosing to pay for catchment restoration, which is offset against their nutrient discharge. Currently, despite its potential, there is a lack of confidence in the scientific robustness of nutrient offsetting. The proposed new indicators in nutrient equivalency would provide the foundation needed to ensure that governments and industry can have the confidence to engage in nutrient trading schemes, ultimately ensuring environmental and social benefits.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100599
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Forecasting ecosystem collapse and recovery by tracking networks of species. This project aims to assess and predict ecosystem decline by measuring change in networks of interacting species. Efforts to prevent ecosystem collapse are failing. A focus on managing individual species ignores the fact that ecosystems function because species have complex associations with one another and the environment. This project will use methods from social networks, food-web theory and web-searching behaviour, ....Forecasting ecosystem collapse and recovery by tracking networks of species. This project aims to assess and predict ecosystem decline by measuring change in networks of interacting species. Efforts to prevent ecosystem collapse are failing. A focus on managing individual species ignores the fact that ecosystems function because species have complex associations with one another and the environment. This project will use methods from social networks, food-web theory and web-searching behaviour, to discover symptoms of declining ecosystems and find robust metrics that diagnose change in networks of co-occurring species. The intended outcome is to clarify the relationship between species interactions, co-occurrence and ecosystem decline, knowledge critical to ecosystem recovery.Read moreRead less
Microplastic infiltration of food webs: cells to ecosystem consequences. Using trophic ecological theory as a framework, this project aims to provide the first comprehensive assessment of the fate and effects of microplastics. Plastic pollution is a persistent and increasing problem. Plastics are degraded into small particles, called microplastics, which are ingested by animals. The project aims to develop much-needed techniques to measure microplastics in biological tissue and apply these techn ....Microplastic infiltration of food webs: cells to ecosystem consequences. Using trophic ecological theory as a framework, this project aims to provide the first comprehensive assessment of the fate and effects of microplastics. Plastic pollution is a persistent and increasing problem. Plastics are degraded into small particles, called microplastics, which are ingested by animals. The project aims to develop much-needed techniques to measure microplastics in biological tissue and apply these techniques in food web studies to determine the capacity of microplastics to transfer from the environment into animals, and how microplastics move through a food web to affect biological diversity and animal health. This information will be used to complete the first risk assessment for microplastics in a major coastal habitat.Read moreRead less
Clothes, fibres and filters that reduce pollution by micro and nano debris. This project aims to provide scientifically verified methods to avoid, intercept and redesign products that cause the most abundant type of marine plastic pollution – clothing fibres - which has increased by over 450% in 60 years. It will determine how natural and plastic fibres, clothing brands and washing machine filters, alter fibre emissions and ecological impacts. This will enable protocols to improve products and t ....Clothes, fibres and filters that reduce pollution by micro and nano debris. This project aims to provide scientifically verified methods to avoid, intercept and redesign products that cause the most abundant type of marine plastic pollution – clothing fibres - which has increased by over 450% in 60 years. It will determine how natural and plastic fibres, clothing brands and washing machine filters, alter fibre emissions and ecological impacts. This will enable protocols to improve products and the environment, and reduce health risks that will benefit the public, government regulation and companies in designing "eco-friendly" products.Read moreRead less
Contemporary sulfur biomineralisation in acid sulfate soil landscapes. This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the processes, kinetics and impacts to water quality of contemporary sulfur biomineralisation in acid sulfate soil landscapes. Extreme concentrations of highly reactive sulfides are forming in the surface sediments of floodplain drains, wetlands and agricultural soils. The newly forming sulfides are linked to severe oxygen depletion and acidification of coastal rivers a ....Contemporary sulfur biomineralisation in acid sulfate soil landscapes. This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the processes, kinetics and impacts to water quality of contemporary sulfur biomineralisation in acid sulfate soil landscapes. Extreme concentrations of highly reactive sulfides are forming in the surface sediments of floodplain drains, wetlands and agricultural soils. The newly forming sulfides are linked to severe oxygen depletion and acidification of coastal rivers and the complete failure of floodplain vegetation, leaving soils susceptible to erosion. The proposed study will greatly advance our understanding of how our precious coastal floodplain soil and water resources are being degraded, and will guide better land management.
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Reverting coastal acid sulfate soils to wetlands: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits. Reverting acid sulfate soils to wetlands offers an economically viable alternative management opportunity to lock up acidity, metals and nutrients to protect our rivers and estuaries. This study will re-establish a salt water and fresh water wetland in a severely degraded acid sulfate soil area and monitor the biogeochemistry to assess how well wetlands can reduce acid sulfate soil impacts. T ....Reverting coastal acid sulfate soils to wetlands: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits. Reverting acid sulfate soils to wetlands offers an economically viable alternative management opportunity to lock up acidity, metals and nutrients to protect our rivers and estuaries. This study will re-establish a salt water and fresh water wetland in a severely degraded acid sulfate soil area and monitor the biogeochemistry to assess how well wetlands can reduce acid sulfate soil impacts. The systematic and detailed investigation being proposed will greatly advance the national and international understanding of how acid sulfate soils can be managed to protect our precious coastal floodplain soils and water resources.Read moreRead less
Comparative ecology of common and threatened plants in fire-prone habitats. There is a critical lack of data on the fire responses of many threatened plant species in Australia, yet such information is essential for species recovery planning and land management. This project will use plants in the Family Epacridaceae (the heaths) as a case study to test whether particular plant traits are associated with rarity vs commonness in fire prone habitats of south eastern Australia. The results will in ....Comparative ecology of common and threatened plants in fire-prone habitats. There is a critical lack of data on the fire responses of many threatened plant species in Australia, yet such information is essential for species recovery planning and land management. This project will use plants in the Family Epacridaceae (the heaths) as a case study to test whether particular plant traits are associated with rarity vs commonness in fire prone habitats of south eastern Australia. The results will increase knowledge of the ecology of this particular, under-studied plant group and will also enable the development of ecologically sound fire management practices, especially in relation to threatened species.Read moreRead less