Responding to Climate Change: Australia's Environmental Law and Regulatory Framework. Climate change presents Australia with unparalleled sustainability challenges. Impacts on environmental resources will require an integrated legal and socio-economic regulatory response. An effective and adaptable environmental law framework will be crucial for adaptation and mitigation measures. The project addresses this need by undertaking a comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluation of Australia's legal ca ....Responding to Climate Change: Australia's Environmental Law and Regulatory Framework. Climate change presents Australia with unparalleled sustainability challenges. Impacts on environmental resources will require an integrated legal and socio-economic regulatory response. An effective and adaptable environmental law framework will be crucial for adaptation and mitigation measures. The project addresses this need by undertaking a comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluation of Australia's legal capacity to respond to climate change, so identifying appropriate governance structures and regulatory tools. This analysis is vital to positioning Australian environmental law to manage climate change impacts and associated social, ecological and economic costs and to ensure compliance with international obligations.Read moreRead less
Fingerprints of global climate change and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling. Using a series of innovative techniques, this project seeks to capture the excellent, exciting opportunities for studying impacts of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on plant-soil-microbe interactions in rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling, with two of the world's best GCC forest experiments in Sweden and USA and three long-term forest management experiments in Australia. ....Fingerprints of global climate change and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling. Using a series of innovative techniques, this project seeks to capture the excellent, exciting opportunities for studying impacts of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on plant-soil-microbe interactions in rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling, with two of the world's best GCC forest experiments in Sweden and USA and three long-term forest management experiments in Australia. The successful conduct of this multidisciplinary collaborative research will result in: improved understanding and management of forest ecosystems in response to GCC and effective biodiversity conservation in managed forests; and enhanced international reputation and expertise of the Australian scientists in the relevant research fields.Read moreRead less
Insect herbivore and plant responses in eucalypt forests under climate change at physiological, species and community scales. Understanding the drivers for insect populations and vulnerabilities to climate change are the first steps to predicting adaptation and mitigation strategies to minimise impacts of climate change on forest biodiversity. Our research will quantify the outcome of climate change on the still neglected but important insect community associated with eucalypts in Australian for ....Insect herbivore and plant responses in eucalypt forests under climate change at physiological, species and community scales. Understanding the drivers for insect populations and vulnerabilities to climate change are the first steps to predicting adaptation and mitigation strategies to minimise impacts of climate change on forest biodiversity. Our research will quantify the outcome of climate change on the still neglected but important insect community associated with eucalypts in Australian forests. These insect communities are widespread, diverse and quintessential for the Australian economy and ecology. Apparent climate change is expected to cause biodiversity shifts, leading to outbreaks and extinctions of insects in eucalypt forests. Negative outcomes of impacts could also include the accumulation of leaf litter, increasing bush fire activity in the future.Read moreRead less
Fate of endocrine disrupting chemicals in water repellent soil. The fate of endocrine system disrupting chemicals in soils has not been studied, even though some have been linked to human health effects. Many are found in municipal sewage wastes. This project will measure chemical concentrations in water repellent forest plantation soils irrigated with municipal wastewater. The outcome will be data specifically addressing (1) the risks when forest plantations are irrigated with municipal wastewa ....Fate of endocrine disrupting chemicals in water repellent soil. The fate of endocrine system disrupting chemicals in soils has not been studied, even though some have been linked to human health effects. Many are found in municipal sewage wastes. This project will measure chemical concentrations in water repellent forest plantation soils irrigated with municipal wastewater. The outcome will be data specifically addressing (1) the risks when forest plantations are irrigated with municipal wastewater in Victoria and, by extension applicable to other Australian ecosystems, (2) Environment Australia's stated need for information directly applicable to ecosystem and human health risk assessment of the environmental risks posed by endocrine disrupting chemicals.Read moreRead less
How do characteristics of seeds and landscape heterogeneity determine plant spread in new environments? Climate change and exotic invasions are among the greatest threats to Australia's, and the world's, biodiversity. Under a rapidly changing climate many Australian plant species will have to spread across a fragmented landscape to persist. In order to contain or eradicate invasive plant species we need to know how they will spread in novel landscapes. We will develop models which will be used f ....How do characteristics of seeds and landscape heterogeneity determine plant spread in new environments? Climate change and exotic invasions are among the greatest threats to Australia's, and the world's, biodiversity. Under a rapidly changing climate many Australian plant species will have to spread across a fragmented landscape to persist. In order to contain or eradicate invasive plant species we need to know how they will spread in novel landscapes. We will develop models which will be used for invasive plants to predict ecological and evolutionary responses to novel landscapes and novel dispersers and for native plants to predict their spread in to fragmented landscapes. These models can be used to prioritise management actions for species of most conservation concern, and predict how far and fast invasive species will spread.Read moreRead less
Understanding the impact of global environmental change on Australian forests and woodlands using rainforest boundaries and Callitris growth as bio-indicators. Human-caused climate change is a fact but the ecological responses are uncertain. These could include accelerated tree growth, expansion of rainforest, and thickening of woodlands, although cessation of Aboriginal firing may be equally important. We will provide a historical context to understand how and why Australian forests have change ....Understanding the impact of global environmental change on Australian forests and woodlands using rainforest boundaries and Callitris growth as bio-indicators. Human-caused climate change is a fact but the ecological responses are uncertain. These could include accelerated tree growth, expansion of rainforest, and thickening of woodlands, although cessation of Aboriginal firing may be equally important. We will provide a historical context to understand how and why Australian forests have changed. Our results will inform management and policy debates about (i) rainforest conservation (ii) the role of fire in forest management (iii) the likely impact of increased CO2 ('fertiliser effect') of forest productivity (iv) national carbon accounting and (v) the consequences of climate change on forest ecosystems, particularly the respective wetting and drying trends in the north and south of Australia.Read moreRead less
The effects of habitat fragmentation on dispersal and social organisation in the Brown Antechinus. Fragmentation of native habitat continues to threaten Australian species, yet we have little understanding of processes leading to resulting extinctions. This study will characterise the effects of human-induced habitat fragmentation on social organisation and dispersal in Brown Antechinus. We will use a combination of genetic and demographic analyses to quantify and describe perturbation of social ....The effects of habitat fragmentation on dispersal and social organisation in the Brown Antechinus. Fragmentation of native habitat continues to threaten Australian species, yet we have little understanding of processes leading to resulting extinctions. This study will characterise the effects of human-induced habitat fragmentation on social organisation and dispersal in Brown Antechinus. We will use a combination of genetic and demographic analyses to quantify and describe perturbation of social structure and mating system within habitat fragments, and of dispersal among them. The patchwork of native vegetation within the Tumut pine plantation provides an ideal natural experimental study system and will produce data essential for rational management of landscapes in the face of human disturbance.Read moreRead less
Impacts of Eucalypt genetics at the community and ecosystem levels. The genetics of a dominant tree species has recently been shown to have far reaching effects on associated biodiversity and ecosystem processes. If this finding proves to be general and is shown to be the case for Australia's iconic eucalypts then understanding their genetics will provide significant insights into the drivers of biological organisation and ecological processes in Australia's native forests and woodlands. This w ....Impacts of Eucalypt genetics at the community and ecosystem levels. The genetics of a dominant tree species has recently been shown to have far reaching effects on associated biodiversity and ecosystem processes. If this finding proves to be general and is shown to be the case for Australia's iconic eucalypts then understanding their genetics will provide significant insights into the drivers of biological organisation and ecological processes in Australia's native forests and woodlands. This will also have major implications for the rapidly expanding environmental and forestry plantings across Australia where choice of seed source may have far reaching consequences.Read moreRead less